An Ohio mill has shipped thousands of pounds of local and organic black beans, popcorn, bean salsa, and whole grain chips, all to local food banks, over the last two years.
The Shagbark Seed and Mill in Athens has been able to do this thanks to a federal program meant to get local food into the hands of people in need of groceries.
These shipments accounted for 60% of Shagbark's sales, paid for by the federally-funded Local Food Purchase Assistance program.
The program was expected to be funded through 2027, but several businesses said they were told in March that the program will now end on June 30.
Some of the Ohio farmers and producers in the program fear for the future of their businesses.
“There is no customer that's going to walk in the door and buy that kind of volume," said Michelle Ajamian, owner of Shagbark Seed and Mill. "It just doesn't exist.”
It's among programs cut by the Department of Government Efficiency.
"Ohio’s food banks know that food security depends not only on households and communities being able to afford and access nourishing food, but also on the resiliency of the farmers and agribusinesses that grow and produce that food," said Joree Novotny, the executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks.
Grant cuts, staff cuts
Ajamian has run the mill for 15 years and she said ending the program has pushed them to cut staff and their hours.
“A fabulous guy who worked for us two days a week building pallets is no longer working with us," she said. "And we're just scrambling to do what we thought we had two years to do.”
Ajamian’s mill is working to make new connections to sell their products.
"We're just hitting the ground and trying to do a lot of connections with other possible buyers," she said. "And particularly schools are great because the idea of being able to send a pallet of 25 pound bags of beans to a school is easier than assuming that those little bags of beans are gonna fly off the shelf at various stores."
Ajamian said what farmers and producers like her really need is for the local food purchase assistance programs to be reinstated.
"You don't pull the plug without enough notice for people to regroup and pivot," she said. "And there's just no way for farmers to pivot and for businesses like mine to pivot."
According to Novotny, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program was a “win-win” for long-term food security and national security.
"Efforts in U.S. House budget reconciliation to erode SNAP will only weaken future farm bill policy that farmers, foodbanks, and Ohio families count on," she said in a prepared statement. "Congress should be focusing on a strong, bipartisan farm bill that delivers for everyday Americans."
Ajamian agrees with Novotny.
She said when people get desperate from the pressures of food insecurity, they often have nowhere else to turn but food banks, which are losing out on local, nutritious goods.
"People shouldn't have to risk their lives to get a meal," she said. "That's why I say I wish our society would change and we were really, really truly looking out for one another. I'm upset about that."
