Tell our elected officials: Save West Virginia Farms!

SIGN THE PETITION!

Our hearts are breaking for all the farms in West Virginia and across America being adversely affected by the federal government's abrupt withdrawal of funding for farm-to-school and food pantry projects, as well as other critical agricultural programs.

Every decision to make cuts has a domino effect. And when you have widespread cuts across the board to multiple programs, the result can be catastrophic.

Like many others, our local farmers are in a political war zone under heavy fire. There will be casualties, and farms will close just when America needs them most!

In recent years, small farms have been called on to grow more, more, more, and they have delivered. They've hired workers, cleared new fields, planted more seeds, purchased new equipment and delivery vehicles, and built barns.

Contracts were signed, and money was borrowed to make all this happen.

Now, due to these funding cuts, our farmers are in massive debt with empty fields ready to be planted, workers waiting for paychecks, creditors waiting for payment, and hungry folks waiting to be fed.

Our farmers have no choice but to keep digging, growing, hoeing, and hoping.

We implore our elected leaders in the U.S. Senate and Congress to fight for the reinstatement of U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program.

SIGN THE PETITION

Learn more:

‘We cannot survive this’: Trump’s cuts to USDA programs hurt West Virginia schools, food banks and farmers by Tre Spencer, Mountain State Spotlight

"...the cuts to USDA farm subsidies targeted the Local Food for Schools program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance program. Those cuts severed the connections between schools, food banks and local growers. In Monroe and Greenbrier counties, about 900 farms grow fruits, vegetables and livestock across 134,000 acres."

West Virginia farms have benefited from federal boost to schools, food banks; now that’s cut off by Brad McElhinny, WV Metro News

“What we really need out of leadership is for them to say the Trump administration has done a wrong and we’re going to do everything we can to fix it. And we haven’t heard that.” 

‘It’s bankruptcy bad’ – local farmer discusses $1 billion in federal food cuts by Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

“In addition to the farms and school children which will be impacted, the WV Department of Agriculture says the state’s two main food hubs which supply local food pantries will be as well.”