Latest news with #ResilientFoodSystemsInfrastructureProgram
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Produce Patch lands grant
A Daviess County agricultural business is one of 17 Hoosier farm operations that have received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture Marketing Service. The Produce Patch, headquartered near Plainville, will be one of 17 food operations in the state that will be sharing in $6.7 million in grants through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program. Amy Holstine, co-owner of the Produce Patch, says the business applied for the grant about a year ago, and was surprised when the awards were announced. 'When President Donald Trump got elected and he started cutting out all of the grants, we kind of figured that this wasn't going to happen. We had not heard anything for months and we were trying to figure out what we were going to do. Then last week we started hearing from them again,' she said. 'It is really exciting. It will allow us to move the business forward in a quicker manner and in the end, we will be able to serve a lot more folks with a lot larger variety of produce. That's at the heart of what we do.' The grant will cover 75% of the cost of a major construction expansion for the Produce Patch operation. 'We have already outgrown our current packing shed. This will allow us to expand into a larger warehouse and packing shed with updated and larger coolers, and loading docks that will allow us to operate more seamlessly and expand. It will be a lot more efficient than our current operation,' said Holstine. 'We hope to have the construction to start on the building this fall and have it up and running next spring.' Holstine says the Produce Patch operations have largely been limited to growing seasons because of the smaller facilities. Now, the business will be able to work with different markets in larger parts of the year. 'In the past we have worked with people like the hospital. With this facility that we are going to build, we hope to become more of a year-round operation where we can aggregate food and distribute it for a greater part of the year. It should help us start earlier in the spring and expand our operations into later in the fall,' she said. 'We grow a lot of our own produce, but we also purchase a lot from farms all around the area. We go into southern Illinois for strawberries, peaches. It will help us strengthen those relationships and help other farmers find an end source for their products.' The grants went to small farm-based food companies around the state producing everything for the table from honey to meat and building resiliency across the middle of the food chain. 'Indiana farmers work hard to produce millions of pounds of fruits, vegetables and other pantry staples each year that are eventually shipped across state lines or do not even make it to market,' Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith, Indiana's Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development said. 'This grant funding will ensure more Hoosiers are fed by Hoosiers and that these organizations can better serve their communities.' In an unrelated action, the owners of the Produce Patch announced plans for construction of a new retail operation. The new facility will go where the former stand on SR 57 was. 'We intend to put a retail market there in Washington. We are hoping to be in that by early summer,' said Holstine. 'We will be opening next week. We will be rolling in a wagon with a little canopy and a small building. That way we can operate during construction.'
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New plan highlights the many challenges for New Hampshire's food system
For the state's 'rapidly' dwindling dairy farms, the plan called for measures like creating an association to advocate for the state's dairy industry, bolstering workforce development, and offering more grant support. (Getty Images) A strategic plan released last month made dozens of recommendations for strengthening the state's food system. It painted a challenging picture for New Hampshire's estimated 4,000 farms, which 'rarely operate in a way that provides enough income for the farm family,' the plan said. And the pressures are growing, with agriculture sales decreasing 12.6% from 2017 to 2022, it said. 'The data demonstrates that we need to adjust our collective work to create a stronger local food system by centering the financial viability of farming, fishing, and food production in New Hampshire,' the plan reads. The plan was created by the NH Food Alliance, a network based out of the University of New Hampshire Sustainability Institute that worked in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food and others. It was supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, as well as the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. While the plan noted that different types of producers face different problems, it also pointed out common struggles, like the loss of 80% of the state's farmland over the past 60 years, New Hampshire's 'shortage of affordable housing,' increased environmental pressures from climate change, and more. At the same time, the plan pitched the benefits and opportunities of looking local when it comes to agriculture: 'regional food security, economic stability for farmers, fishermen, and food producers, regional economic growth, protected open spaces, a stable food supply, climate resilience, and improved public health and nutrition.' The plan engaged 118 subject matter experts in developing 27 briefs across a range of topics including agritourism, dairy, fruits and vegetables, consumer education, disaster relief, farmland conservation, and more. In the end, the plan issued 143 recommendations tied to each of the briefs. For the state's 'rapidly' dwindling dairy farms, for instance, it called for measures like creating an association to advocate for the state's dairy industry, bolstering workforce development, and offering more grant support. The plan was spurred by the NH Food Alliance's participation in the New England Food System Planners Partnership, which aims for New Englanders to consume 30% regional food products by 2030, according to a news release from UNH. An analysis from the partnership found that only 3.2% of Granite Staters' spending on food, beverages, and alcohol in 2022 went to regional sources.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Local food startup Harvie faces uncertainty over $1M USDA grant amid program cuts
As the founder of a local food startup negotiating a full range of small business challenges, Simon Huntley knows a warning sign when he sees one. After his Lawrenceville-based Harvie was approved for a $1 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture last May through its Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, Huntley has new reason to doubt his company will ever get the money. News breaking from various published reports say that the administration of President Donald J. Trump and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are cutting more than $1 billion in USDA programs. Various reports detail the USDA is poised to make $660 million in cuts for the Local Food for Schools program for 2025 as well as cut the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which was expected to put about $500 million into supporting food banks this year. While neither program was to provide his grant funding, Huntley has learned to not expect much, especially given Harvie was supposed to have received the $1 million grant appropriation last July, an award for which his company had been prepared to pony up $1 million in matching funds. Click here to read more from our partners at the Pittsburgh Business Times. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How federal funding cuts are impacting Chicagoland food banks, farmers
CHICAGO (WGN) — The Illinois Department of Agriculture this week ended two food programs in the state due to funding cuts at the US Department of Agriculture, and the impact is already being felt by farmers, food banks and businesses. Halted are the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program and the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, according to a state news release. 'We're really worried about our ability to continue distributing all the food throughout our network to make sure we're meeting the need in our community,' said Hillary Caron, a policy advisor with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The Illinois programs were funded by the USDA's Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. The programs provided more than $1 billion in funding to schools and food banks to buy directly from local farms, ranchers and producers. Both were canceled earlier this month because they 'no longer effectuate the goals of the agency,' the USDA said in a statement to WGN's partners at The Hill. USDA halts more than $1B in funding for local food banks, schools A multi-year agreement approved the state to distribute $43 million. Currently, $17.8 million remains outstanding from the federal government. 'We had about $400,000 in purchases from nine farms that we are not able to continue with now,' Caron said. The Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency service — DOGE — claim the federal cuts in funding are to reduce government waste, but these cuts, opponents argue, could have a devastating effect. 'I think what they didn't realize with the funding, with these cuts that it just did not affect the individual that received them,' said Zeolon Rohwedder, president of the Farmer Veteran Coalition of Illinois, which works to mobilize military veterans to feed America. Rohwedder said that one of their farmers based in Chicago had five pantries to which they were providing food, but that's been scaled back to due as a consequence of the cuts. 'Those particular pantries have lost fresh products produced by people here in Chicago, for people in Chicago,' he said. In south suburban Monee, farmer Josh Snedden signed a contract with the USDA for a new solar system he installed in December. As he hopes to expand his operation, he says its now an added stressor and one of several grants to which he applied. 'These are not new dollars. These are contracts, these are commitments that were made by the US Government,' he said. A recent report says cutbacks to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — SNAP — could cost local economies billions each year. 'What we're seeing now is bad enough, and Congress is already considering cutting SNAP, and that provides nine meals for every one food pantries provide,' Caron explained. The USDA informed Illinois that it stopped reimbursements for any costs incurred by the programs after Jan 19. 2025, according to the state news release. All claims submitted after that date are being returned without explanation or timeline for reimbursement to resume. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Impacts of USDA cuts, tariff flip flops take center stage at Illinois Capitol
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — The United States Department of Agriculture will make $1 billion of cuts to food purchasing programs. It's just the latest hit to the agriculture sector, as the trump administration works to strip down government agencies. Lawmakers in Springfield held a hearing to discuss those 11cuts, the lack of federal funding coming in for other food programs, and the impact the president's on-again off-again tariff plan is having on farmers. 'it definitely puts you in a more precarious spot,' Ed Dubrick, a farmer from Cissna Park said. The hearing covered a wide array of topics, with farmers, officials from the University of Illinois, staff from programs designed to tackle food insecurity and Illinois Department of Agriculture officials all taking part. The Illinois Department of Agriculture is short millions of dollars that was appropriated to the state by the federal government. The agency's director, Jerry Costello says the money stopped coming right after the Trump Administrations threatened Federal funding freeze from early February. It's all a part of the $2 billion Governor Pritzker said has been withheld from the Illinois government. Costello says the lack of federal money is causing problems for multiple programs, including the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) and the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Both programs worked to get food to food insecure areas all over the state, including to school programs and food banks. 'We try to get guidance, we cannot get guidance,' Costello said. 'We go to pull down monies that again were contractually agreed upon for reimbursement. It does happen. It doesn't happen.' University of Illinois officials have also seen impacts from the cuts. A lab on the Champaign-Urbana campus for studying soy beans had to be shut down after the Trump Adminstration. While research projects could be affected by future cuts, the Dean of the College of ACES said the University will continue with projects where they can. 'We are stewards of the dollars that they give us to do this research uncertainty. You know, it's really making it difficult to plan ahead,' Professor Germán Bollero said. 'We continue to focus on the research that we do, and the research done have impact to society.' The University has had to take other temporary changes though, including pauses to hiring graduate students for certain programs. While the USDA cuts are specific to food purchasing, there are other impacts of federal actions that could lead to problems for farmers. Trump's inconsistent tariff strategy is causing a lot of uncertainty in an already struggling market. Trump's tariffs target three of Illinois' biggest trade partners, and the three have already threatened retaliatory tariffs. If those were to be put on agriculture products, it could hurt the bottom line for farmers. While all of this was discussed under the dome in Springfield Tuesday, there was an issue. Illinois has no real control over what is going on. Democrats argued this hearing was meant to highlight the impacts of the cuts, but Republicans argued it strictly political in nature. This is the second hearing in the past week held to highlight federal cuts that were outside the state governments control. Last week, lawmakers discussed the potential cuts to Medicaid that could come with the congressional spending plan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
