No matter where you fall on the political spectrum I think we can all agree that filling our local food banks for the most vulnerable in our communities with fresh, local, and organic food is a win-win for all. People are looking for fresh, nutritious, and local products. To be able to walk away with beef, cheese, vegetables, and eggs from a local food pantry that was grown very close to home is exciting. The Illinois Eats program was an amazing program funded by the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance program. It was transforming our state’s food system by sourcing fresh food from small scale farmers in Illinois and delivering this food to underserved communities across the state. Small Scale Farmers, like my dear Friend Becky Stark of Midnight Sun Farm was paid a fair market value for vegetables and eggs that were grown and raised on her farm in Capron, IL. Our neighbors in need could then access this healthy food at no cost through food pantries, mobile markets, and food box programs. Becky had already purchased all the farm inputs and had started growing food because she had a contract with our government. Funding and this signed lawful contract was abruptly cut in early March. Becky was blindsided by this news, as were many other farmers. Like so many people, she’s now left in limbo dealing with potentially significant financial losses. This is just one frustrating example of how so many people are affected by this funding freeze.
As many of you know I spent almost 20 years working in public and private schools in many different capacities as an educator. Sometimes, the only meal that my students received was at school. Sometimes they received both breakfast and lunch. I always had snacks on hand for my students. I spent most of my days traveling from school to school and had stashes of food in my bag, purse, and car. In all honesty, it was not always the most nutritious food as it was mostly shelf stable stuff. This is another reason why the IL Eats program is so important because it provided nutrient dense fresh food! I know so many teachers who bought food for their students and always made sure they had a snack to get throughout the day. These experiences shaped me.
In 2021, 51% of children ages 5-17 received either free or reduced cost meals at school. In addition to the IL Eats program being cut, an additional $660 million in funding this year has been cut for the Local Food for Schools program, which is active in 40 states. These were amazing programs benefitting local farmers, local kids in our communities, mental health, families, the economy, and the environment. This is coming at a time when food insecurity is at an all time high. Local farmers can and should be the ones feeding our neighbors.
This is not all gloom and doom! Let’s band together and make a difference! Here are some resources to help guide us on what to do to move forward.
TAKE ACTION:
1. Support your local farmers! Purchase IL Eats farmer’s products to help cover sales lost. Becky will be selling at our farm on May 18 for a mini farmer’s market!
Becky’s website: https://midnightsunfarm.com/
Find More farms to support here.
2. Contact your member of congress and our two US Senators. After you send the email through the link provided by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, you will be prompted with a script and the phone numbers. Even if you have already called, call again.
3. Share the above action alert widely by email, social media, and text message. When you share it, add a sentence or two about why this matters to you and ask your friends to take action.
To support IL-Eats farmers and Farmers Rising: Contribute to Farmer’s Rising $100,000 March Bridge fundraising campaign.
4. Read more at the Local Food Forum
