A FEDERAL PROGRAM that brought fresh produce from farms directly to low-income families has ended, stripping local farmers of a significant revenue stream and leaving families with one less option.<\/p>\n
The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) \u2014 a U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative started in 2021 during the pandemic \u2014 provided $1 billion annually to help food banks, schools and nonprofits nationwide purchase produce from farmers. Unlike surplus or blemished produce donated to food banks from wholesale distributors,\u00a0large farms<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0grocery stores<\/a>, the federal program provided low-income families with fresh, even organic, fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n Don’t miss out on Bay Area news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Veggielution<\/a>, an East San Jose nonprofit community farm, received $1 million in LFPA funds annually to provide 600 families with a box of produce every week. Starting in January, it will scale back to providing produce boxes to 100 families.<\/p>\n Veggielution Executive Director Shawn Gerth is worried about the impacts this will have on\u00a0East Side families the nonprofit serves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a new level of challenge of food insecurity that is markedly different than COVID, because in (the pandemic), we had the federal government stepping up to help out,\u201d Gerth told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cNow we have the federal government pulling back those resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Wondering where the next meal will come from<\/p>\n One resident, who asked not to be identified for privacy reasons, said the weekly box of produce kept her from worrying about her next meal.<\/p>\n \nContribute to Local News Matters\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe boxes were the best and (freshest) produce we get around the Bay,\u201d she told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cAs a single mom, I cannot buy organic stuff because it is expensive. That also affects our health.\u201d<\/p>\n She stopped getting the boxes two years ago after Veggielution changed the territory the boxes served, and has resorted to going to food banks. That produce is often close to spoiling, she said. The challenges with planning for meals is compounding with needing to find another apartment within her cash-strapped budget.<\/p>\n Her rent is $2,400 a month, which she has been able to pay with the help of one of her sons. But that son is moving out, and she said she won\u2019t be able to sustain the monthly payments.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just going to be much more difficult for our East Side community because we already know they\u2019ve got multiple challenges coming at them,\u201d Gerth said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got housing challenges coming at them. People are trying to\u00a0afford child care<\/a>. People are scared and afraid to go outside when our community has got (federal immigration enforcement agents<\/a>) coming at them.\u201d<\/p>\n Since 2022, California has received more than\u00a0$88 million<\/a>\u00a0in LFPA funds. But as\u00a0food insecurity<\/a>\u00a0drives more people to food banks, the situation places greater pressure on these providers.<\/p>\n Leslie Bacho, CEO of\u00a0Second Harvest of Silicon Valley<\/a>, said the food bank has been increasing food going to community partner sites since November and is prepared to dip into reserves if needed. It\u2019s also added eggs and milk back on the menu.<\/p>\n Second Harvest received $2.8 million from the LFPA program, but funds have nearly run out. The program allowed the food bank to purchase specialty items from small farms such as cilantro, bok choy and organic produce at market rate prices to better meet local needs.<\/p>\n But the federal government\u2019s elimination of the program will disrupt small farmers, as well as the relationships food banks have built with local farms, Bacho said. Second Harvest was able to guarantee it would be able to purchase certain specialty crops from small farms, giving them a reliable market.<\/p>\n Small farmers forced to make adjustments<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really heartbreaking,\u201d Bacho told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThink about\u00a0all of these farmers, where now you have this new market and you can finally invest in developing your farms and your farming practices, and then to have it suddenly go away.\u201d<\/p>\n For specialty organic growers such as H\u00e9ktor Calder\u00f3n-Victoria, the federal program constituted a a significant portion of his sales. He started\u00a0Three Feathers Farm<\/a>\u00a0in Morgan Hill four years ago, born out of a passion to provide underserved communities with high-quality produce through sustainable farming practices.<\/p>\n He grows tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, onions, eggplant, bitter melon, corn and other culturally-relevant foods on his 5-acre farm. The program ensured there was little to no spoilage of crops on his farm, he said, especially when he had a large volume of produce ready for consumption.<\/p>\n With the program\u2019s termination, Calder\u00f3n-Victoria said he\u2019ll have to pivot from doing less wholesale to direct sales, including hosting more \u201cpick your own produce\u201d events at the farm. He may plan to grow less crops next year and see if he can establish new relationships with restaurants and hospitals.<\/p>\n \u201cFinding markets is always the challenging component,\u201d Calder\u00f3n-Victoria told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cProducing the food is the reason that we get into farming, and we\u2019re really good at doing it. The hardest part is trying to play this numbers game of whack-a-mole.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact Joyce Chu at\u00a0joyce@sanjosespotlight.com\u00a0or @joyce_speaks on X.<\/p>\n