When Illinois named small farmer Nathan Ryder a finalist for a federal $100,000 Local Food Infrastructure Grant, he made big plans for his farm in the southeastern tip of the state. Then the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut his funding.
The Ryder family farm, a 10-acre operation in Pope County that produces chicken eggs, sheep and some fruits and vegetables, would have used the money to purchase a refrigerated truck. Ryder said he wanted to use the truck to sell his own products farther away. He was also going to transport other farmers' food back to Southern Illinois, expanding that rural region's access to healthy, affordable food.
"Why is it that [people's access to fresh fruits and vegetables] is somehow considered optional?" Ryder asked in an interview. "We should be able to feed the people around us."
Illinois was approved for $43 million in federal reimbursement funds for two food programs designed to strengthen statewide food systems, but when the Trump administration took office it informed the stated, without explanation, that the remaining $17.8 million in federal agriculture reimbursements still owed to Illinois would cease after Jan. 19, 2025.
Read more at Belleville News-Democrat
