By BEN SZALINSKI
Capitol News Illinois
bszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD — The Trump administration has stopped reimbursing Illinois for a program designed to help farmers and supply fresh food to Illinois food banks.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that changes to federal funding mean Illinois is missing reimbursements for costs for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, or LFPA, and can no longer run the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, or RFSI.
The state agency said the federal U.S. Department of Agriculture has told states it will not reimburse them for any costs for the programs dating back to when Trump took office on Jan. 20.
LFPA, which funds the Illinois-EATS program, uses federal funding to buy fresh products from farmers at a fair market value, then distributes the food to communities via food pantries and other similar programs designed to help people in need for no additional cost. All the food produced as part of Illinois’ program comes from socially disadvantaged farmers, including those the federal government defines as “new farmers.”
More than 170 farmers have supplied food to 883 locations in Illinois through Illinois-EATS.
Brenda Stewart, a farm owner in Pembroke Township in Kankakee County, received grant funding through the state. She told Capitol News Illinois she is most worried about the people who depend on her farm and the grant program to eat healthy.
“We’re still going to grow our food, we’re still going to provide what we can to our community, but not on the scale if they were able to receive,” Stewart said.
Pembroke Township has no grocery store and many residents are on food stamps, Stewart said. She said IL-EATS and her farm provide many of the residents one of their only avenues for fresh and healthy food.
The USDA approved $43 million for Illinois to carry out the program for several years, but the state is still missing $17.8 million, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. The state and USDA announced a partnership for the program in 2022.
The state has also not received $6.5 million for the RFSI grant program. The program is designed to improve capacity for food processors and distributors and improve access to better distribution markets. The state has established a grant program based on funding from the federal government and was in the process of selecting winners.
There was no explanation for why reimbursements submitted after Jan. 19 were stopped, according to the state, and reimbursement claims have been returned.
USDA did not return a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
“That program made the difference, and I would say to Elon Musk and President Trump, this is saving lives. This is teaching our babies how to eat fresh vegetables and how it helps their medical conditions,” Stewart said.
Read more: Pritzker says federal funds still being withheld; warns of further spending cuts
News that the two programs are on an indefinite hold comes a week after Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois’ Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget asking why the Trump administration was withholding $1.9 billion from Illinois state agencies, nonprofits and businesses.
“These are federal funds that were passed by Congress, signed into law, and promised to Illinois,” the letter stated. “State agencies, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and everyday citizens across Illinois — including in rural communities — are still having trouble accessing allocated federal funding.”
A federal judge issued another ruling last week prohibiting the Trump administration from blocking distribution of federal funding.
The end of funding for the programs comes as Illinois farmers face new tariffs imposed on three of the state’s largest trading partners and retaliatory tariffs against American goods. Illinois farmers exported nearly $14 billion of agricultural products in 2023, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau.
“Illinois farmers’ products – from grains and feed, corn, soybeans, ethanol, beef, pork, and more – rely on access to foreign markets and will undoubtedly be impacted by these new tariffs either through increased prices or decreased market access,” Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan said in a statement. “This uncertainty coupled with an already struggling farm economy has farmers worried as we head into planting season.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
