A bin of donated food sits at the Central California Food Bank in this 2023 file photo.

With the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement this week of about $1 billion in cuts, several assistance programs — including the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) — were eliminated as part of the Trump’s administration’s efforts to slash federal spending.

The reductions cut deeply in California, where 533 small farmers supply food to 55 food banks and other partners fighting hunger.

During a virtual press conference held by California District 21 Rep. Jim Costa on Monday, local leaders voiced their concerns over the potential loss of revenue for local farms, and impact on those struggling with food insecurity.

Fresno Unified School District (FUSD), which received nearly $500,000 in LFS funding to purchase from local producers for school meals, is among those greatly impacted by the cuts.

“For many of our students, the meals they receive at school aren’t just a part of their day, they are a lifeline,” said FUSD Chief Communications Officer Nikki Henry. “They fuel learning, engagement and growth.”

Natalie Caples, co-CEO of the Central California Food Bank (CCFB), also spoke about the impact to food security and the farm economy.

She said conservations on the federal level include “detrimental” cuts to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) — “a program that provides nine meals for every one meal a food bank like mine can provide” and much more.

“That means that there’s less food available for neighbors experiencing food insecurity and less economic opportunity and stability for our local communities,” Caples said.

Paul Towers, executive director of the California Alliance for Family Farmers (CAFF), which represents 8,000 family-scale farmers, warned of the long-term implications.

“It should be no surprise to anyone here that the future and livelihood of farmers and farming in California is threatened,” he said, adding that 62% of farms reported losses in the most recent agricultural census.

In addition, Towers added that California loses an average of four farms per day, highlighting the importance of programs like LFPA, to help generate revenue.

“The Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, or LFPA, is the next iteration of [past federal programs],” he said. “It was designed to fund cooperation between the federal government, states, farmers and food banks, and place even greater investment in local farmers in this country.”

California has seen a nearly 30% drop in the overall number of farms over the past several decades, from nearly 88,000 in 1997 to about 63,000 farms in 2022.

Bryce Lowen, a fourth-generation farmer and co-owner of Blossom Bluff Orchards in Parlier, said his farm directly benefited from LFPA funding.

“That amounted to somewhere in the neighborhood of, I think, $33,000 worth of sales revenue for my farm,” Lowen said. “The combination of benefits that are available to students and to farmers through their programs, in my mind, is a ‘win, win, win.’”

He said this is the wrong program to target.

“If the idea of cutting these programs was ‘trimming the fat,’ it’s the wrong fat to be trimming — there’s not much fat there,” he said. “Farms like mine and farms in general work on a narrow margin, even with all the work we do to direct market everything, we’re not getting rich doing it. We do it because we care and it’s something we feel is important.”

Despite a U.S. judge halting a previous Trump administration order freezing federal spending last month, the White House has pressed forward with reviewing and cutting federal funding; many local nonprofit leaders expressed fear that the funding freeze was a precursor to more widespread cuts.

With more than 7,900 food banks and pantries nationwide relying on programs integrating local farmers for fresh food, Caples stressed these programs are not just about helping community members in need, but also about sustaining American farms and generating positive economic impact.

“Supporting food banks and other support programs isn’t just about hunger relief — it’s about keeping American farms strong and independent and also keeping resources available for community members to thrive,” she said.