Gov. Gavin Newsom sent an urgent appeal to the US Department of Agriculture on Saturday, begging to reverse the sudden cancellation of a Biden-era program, which will support millions of California families and serve as a lifeline for hundreds of smallholder farmers.
“An unreasonable and malicious slash of funds will hurt not only our farmers, but our families who need food banks,” Newsom said in a release an appeal.
The California Department of Social Services appeal called the move “illegal” and said it should be reverted.
USDA’s program began to emit grants to state and tribal governments in 2022 to decentralize and diversify food supply chains following the pandemic tensions.
California has received $88.5 million in program cash since signing a federal contract in the spring. It purchases food from “local (and) socially disadvantaged farmers” through food banks and other aid programs. The state was scheduled to receive an additional $47 million this year.
Instead, the USDA announced in March that it was eliminating the program. The agency did not immediately respond to questions regarding the decision.
The cash that has already been allocated and intended to be paid by 2026 has been temporarily frozen, and farmers don’t know which species are sowing midway through planting season, said Becky Silva, California’s director of government relations. Food Bank.
The funds have since recovered, but no new money has arrived, Silva said.
This move has caught many farmers in the air.
“Farmers constantly call me what happens,” wrote Ken Van, produced by Fresno Vipok, as part of the appeal. “Farmers planted some crops just for the program because it means the program will guarantee their income. Now they are worried that their crops don’t have a home.”
Others were worried that the farm would go down without government programs.
“Not only is the lack of income devastating to our farm, it also brings great uncertainty to the future of our family’s farming,” writes Mariella Buenrostro of Raul & Family Farm, Riverside.
As the USDA program funds local farmers to grow crops specifically for food banks, that elimination also reduces what the Safety Net program can offer when more Californians face food insecurity and hunger.
“It’s a huge loss,” said Becky Silva, director of government relations at California Asun. The food bank won more than $22 million from the state allocation last year. “It’s a really difficult time for a food bank.”
They had more trouble keeping food on the table last month and September when data was available. At the beginning of the program, that number was 30%.
“When I ask the California food bank, they share some of the highest demand we’ve ever seen,” Silva said. “The Kern County Community Action Partnership has seen a 150% increase in food distribution center lines.”
USDA cuts are shrinking the Cal Foods program, which is where Sacramento supplies food banks and reduces its Cal Foods program, down from $60 million in June to $8 million.
Tightening of both state and federal belts takes on assistance programs amid widespread food inflation. In the most recent month available, groceries prices in Los Angeles were 2.5% higher than a year ago. In March, the USDA predicted that “work from home” prices would skyrocket another 2.7% across the US by the end of 2025.
These forecasts did not explain the new tariff raft that took effect last week. They still have higher prices for food.
“The USDA failed to provide a reasonable explanation for the unilateral termination… suggesting that the action is arbitrary, whimsical and discretionary abuse,” wrote Deputy Director Alexis Fernandez Garcia, who wrote in the California Social Services Appeal. “(That) needs to be reversed.”
