04-03-2025
Potential funding freeze impacts SWVA non-profit that supplies food boxes to thousands
DUFFIELD, Va. (WJHL) — Leaders at Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD), a non-profit that focuses on agriculture, say two of their programs are in jeopardy due to President Trump's proposed freeze on some federal funding.
The Appalachian Harvest Food Box Program provides food boxes full of fresh fruits, vegetables, locally sourced meat and milk to nearly 40 food pantries and food banks in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. In addition, as many as 200 families pick up boxes each week at ASD's location in Duffield, Virginia.
But, Sylvia Crum, the Director of Development for ASD, says this week may be the last week they can afford to provide the boxes without federal funds from the USDA.
Crum says the USDA funds a large portion of the program and has told ASD leaders that the federal reimbursement grants for the program may be delayed or reduced.
'The way the food box program works is, is that we use our money to purchase, produce and if available, local milk and local meat to put into the food boxes,' Crum said. 'We then submit a reimbursement form to the federal government to get reimbursed for those funds.'
'Because of this hold right now and because we're waiting to hear from the USDA, we are not sure that we have enough money basically to float this program. We have probably enough money to do one more week's worth of food box distribution.'
The food box program not only serves those in need, it supports several local farmers who produce the food.
'So we're fighting food insecurity and we're impacting economic development because we're buying all that stuff from local and regional farmers that we work with,' Crum told News Channel 11.
The other impacted program is ASD's Agroforestry program. In an email to News Channel 11, Katie Commender, the Director of ASD's Agroforestry, provided the following statement:
In February, ASD's Agroforestry and Appalachian Harvest Herb Hub programs learned that three federal grants totaling $1.25 million dollars across five states from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were impacted by the federal funding freeze. These federal grants enable ASD to provide essential resources and services that farming communities throughout Central Appalachia rely on. This includes on-farm and virtual agroforestry technical assistance, financial assistance to offset agroforestry establishment costs, marketing, processing, aggregation and distribution (MPAD) support for high-value medicinal herbs, seed to sale training and certification, and much more.
Katie Commender, Agroforestry Director at Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD)
Crum added that ASD is asking food assistance recipients to speak up so that the funding for both programs can continue.
'We're asking people just to get involved, reach out to your representatives. Let them know how you feel about this issue,' said Crum.
There's a link on ASD's website to voice concerns about the funding freeze.
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