Updated 04/2025

During the last week of April, the Center participated in a Week of Action coordinated by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) to uplift important advocacy efforts to safeguard and improve our nation’s food and farm system through calls to action, including:

• Ask your Member of Congress to co-sponsor the Agricultural Resilience Act (ARA) and the Honor Farmer Contracts Act.
• Ask Members of Congress to fully fund a permanent local food purchase program in the Farm Bill.
• (Farmers only) Sign on to a letter calling for comprehensive disaster assistance for farmers.
• Celebrate and protect federal employees and ask your Member of Congress to urge USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to re-hire all USDA federal employees and fully staff local offices.
• Ask your Members of Congress to call on the USDA for the immediate release of all funding, for all signed contracts to be honored, and to co-sponsor the Honor Farmers Contracts Act.

The Center continues to track and strive to mitigate the impacts that federal funding cuts and freezes are inflicting on food system work.

Updated 03/2025

Many of our partners across the country are facing devastating and quickly evolving challenges due to the ongoing funding freeze and cuts being made by the current administration. In February, Center staff visited Capitol Hill to talk to legislators about the effects of this uncertainty and what it means for people growing food, feeding their communities, and relying on institutions for their meals.

On March 7, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the previously announced 2025 funding for Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement (LFSCC) and Local Food Purchasing Assistance Cooperative Agreement program (LFPA) is being terminated. Both LFSCC and LFPA created opportunities for local farmers and producers to access and expand market channels through school and food bank purchases.

This reduction eliminates $1 billion in funding that would have supported farmers across the country to provide high-quality food to our communities through schools and food banks. Our partners at National Farm to School Network (NFSN) have launched an action alert and story collection page for individuals and organizations to share how these cuts are directly affecting communities and constituents, as well as a media coverage tracker.

In addition, the following resources offer connections to support and opportunities to join collective response and group advocacy efforts:

• National Resource Guide for Producers by the American Farmland Trust

• Grassroots Funding Freeze Mobilization Toolkit by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

• Federal Cuts Map and Tracker for submission of media coverage about impacts and stories from federal workers, federal business partners, and grant or loan recipients

• National Young Farmers Coalition Call to Action