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Federal funding freeze halts Illinois EATS program

The deputy director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) says the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze has halted the Illinois EATS program.

Kristi Jones tells Brownfield it was part of the USDA funded Local Food Purchase Assistance Program.

“Those reimbursement dollars are how we fund the lead agencies, the farmers, and the food.”  She says, “We had 883 community sites that received the food from 176 farmers.”

Jones says over half of those farmers meet USDA’s qualifications for a new farmer.  She says Illinois was approved to distribute $43 million under the course of the multi-year agreement and $17.8 million remains outstanding from the federal government.  Jones says without explanation, the USDA informed states that it was ceasing reimbursements for any costs incurred after January 19, 2025. 

AUDIO: Kristi Jones – Illinois Department of Agriculture

Chad Wallace, rural affairs director with the Illinois Environmental Council and a participating specialty grower, says many farmers are now left in limbo.

“A lot of these farms have upped their production because they felt they had a guarantee.”  He says, “It’s easily a couple hundred thousand dollars that these folks were looking to still get through June.  So, these folks have been left with not only a lot of product, but maybe a product that is not as marketable outside of the program.”

Jones says the move takes away resources from those in the greatest need at a time when food insecurity is rising.

“Consumers are looking for fresh, nutritious, local products and so to be able to walk away with ground beef, and radishes, and kale, from within a very small radius of where you live is incredibly exciting to someone who shops at a food bank,” she says.

She says IDOA is meeting with stakeholders to determine ways to maintain the networks developed by Illinois EATS, as well as assisting with finding markets for undistributed product.

Jones says the federal funding freeze also ends the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program that aimed to expand the middle of the food supply chain capacity for locally and regionally produced foods. She says IDOA was in the process of selecting grantees, which would have provided $6.4 million in grant funding, however no funds had been awarded.  

AUDIO: Chad Wallace – Illinois Environmental Council