ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Sitting in his farmhouse near Columbia, Illinois -- sunburned vegetable farmer Ben Stumpf had only one description for the situation he’s in -- “farming purgatory.”

For a year now, his life and farm have been improving -- better work-life-balance, able to quit his third job, and more time for his young son. That was due in part, he says, to U.S. Department of Agriculture programs helping him sell his crops directly to waiting foodbanks.

But suddenly, those programs ended as the federal government crackdown on alleged wasteful spending -- something that Ben has a hard time understanding. For him, he says he’s worried about losing a significant amount of sales and potentially his farm. He built it with his own two hands over the past five years.

Across the river in St. Louis, the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry -- which supplies thousands of meals to 20,000 St. Louisans -- is prepping for impacts on their side.

Since the USDA had been the “largest contributor of food” to HKJFP, the cuts will have a real impact. The organization worries that there will be a visible drop in food distribution for the rest of 2025.

“Thousands of our neighbors right here in St. Louis are at risk of going hungry due to these cuts,” said CEO Miriam Seidenfeld. “People have seen the news coverage and are reaching out to ask how they can help. That speaks to the connection our community feels to the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry and the essential role it plays in addressing food insecurity in our region.”

The Food Pantry is part of the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), providing thousands of pounds of high-quality food to the pantry. It was one of the programs cut by the Trump istration in the last few months.

CBS News recently reported that almost a billion dollars in funding for multiple programs previously funded and approved. Two of those programs were focused on foodbanks and schools purchasing local farmer’s food. An istration official told CBS News it was tied to fiscal responsibility.

Back in Illinois, there are number of farms trying to figure out where they stand on the products they’ve grown -- and where paychecks are at. The Farms of Illinois, -- , says some have been paid for deliveries of fresh food -- but others aren’t sure what the future holds.

Clint Bland, who founded his own farm and the organization, says he’s worried organizations are going to downsize -- and he’s already had to let staff go.

Over 30% of his income was based on the USDA programs, and now that they are likely done -- improvement plans to his farm are now on hold, he tells First Alert 4.

Bland and the Farms of Illinois provide food to pantries across Central and Southern Illinois -- as well as the St. Louis region.

“The Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry is currently preparing for the challenges that will occur due to the reduction of food allocations from the USDA and is charting a course forward in the ongoing work to eliminate hunger,” the Jewish Food Pantry says.

LOCAL FOOD PURCHASE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The USDA created the Local Food Purchase Assistance program several years ago to do one main job – strengthen food systems by buying more local food. Basically put, the program, also known as Illinois Eats, buys food from local growers and then distributes it to community .

More information is available here.

Illinois conceived their program as a way of taking produce from farmers and connecting it to organizations like school districts and foodbanks. This would help create a sustainable food network, improve small farmer distribution of products and help community get quality foodstuffs easily.

The key to the program, at least according to the State of Illinois, is that the program is focused on providing contracts to socially disadvantaged farmers – or in other words – farmers that may have just started their operation, that may not be financially stable or are trying to expand their operations

The IDOA Director testified before the state congress last month, explaining that LFPA programs are supposed to local food chains – the famers and the community who eats their food.

“Cutting the funding leaves farmers on the hook for expenses they incurred believing they would be reimbursed and leaves our most vulnerable, food-insecure communities without meat, fresh produce and other nutritious donations they were promised,” said IDOA Director Jerry Costello II. “The federal government broke its promise, and the people of Illinois are paying the price.”

However, the federal changes that have become common since Donald Trump entered his second term, led to much chaos – when the federal funds backing the Illinois program suddenly disappeared as budgets and programs were cut or halted immediately.

The program was eventually somewhat allowed to continue for some time. The state says that the Illinois Departmetn of Agriculture were working to find and uuse funding from USDA to fund the program through this year.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture explains more of the details. The Il-EATS program ed by both LFPA and LFPA+ were or are being paid for January and February invoices – however the more than $14 million ing the LFPA program for this year has been terminated by USDA, some potentially returning.

Avery Martinez covers water, ag & the environment for First Alert 4. He is also a Report for America Corps member, as well as a member of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. His coverage ranges from EPA s to corn farms and hunting concerns, and local water rates to rancher mental health.

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