Participants in the Local Food Production Assistance Program were notified late last week that the federal government was no longer issuing reimbursements.
Food banks and pantries across Illinois received grant funding to buy fresh produce, meat and dairy directly from local farmers at fair market prices. Now, the federal government says they’re not offering reimbursements retroactively from Jan. 19.
Heather Edwards is the Executive Director for Rooted for Good, based in DeKalb County. She said the grant helped the nonprofit serve more than 13,000 households in the area per month. Edwards said they paid $50,000 to farmers in February, and they’re hopeful, but not certain, they’ll be paid back.
“We’re struggling to get product in from the food bank," she said. "The choice there for our neighbors, as far as the fresh product, is going to be very limited now, very limited.”
Jerry Costello is the director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. He said the Department received the funds from the federal government and disbursed them across the state.
Costello said farmers were depending on this money for the growing season.
“Just to be very blunt," he said, "it will be extremely hard for these programs to operate without the federal funding, hard to. I mean, I would also say almost impossible.”
It’s unclear at this point whether the funding, which was contracted to last through June 2025, will resume.
Rooted for Good says they estimate a loss of $400,000 for the organization if the reimbursements are not restored.
