I read an article earlier this week about the federal government eliminating a program that provides money for schools and food banks to purchase food items from local businesses such as farms and ranches.
This wasn’t the article I read: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usda-cancels-local-food-purchasing-food-banks-school-meals/#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Department%20of%20Agriculture,term%2C%20fiscally%20responsible%20initiatives.%22. Still, it outlines what the program provided as well as what some of the anticipated repercussions would be.
The program was a response to the pandemic. Per the CBS article, the rationale given for elimination is to “return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives.”
When I read about this, my first thought was that is bad news for local farms, etc. Schools were losing $660 million they had been spending not just on fresh foods for children, but in support of local businesses. There is no way this was not going to have a negative impact on people’s livelihoods.
When the program elimination was announced, many of those business expressed concern over their livelihoods. In the CBS article, Katie Carlson, president of Carlson Orchards in Harvard, Massachusetts is quoted as saying, “We know that this time of year we can count on the Worcester Food Hub. They may not be huge orders every week, but we know that they’re coming to take something every week, so if that were to all of a sudden drop off […] It’s just not, not good.”
A few days later I read an NBC News article outlining just what these farmers, etc., could lose. (https://www.yahoo.com/news/farmers-face-steep-losses-middle-090040007.html) The most positive comment came from Iowa farmer, Bob Hemesath:
“I think any farmer will tell you that we will take some short-term pain, but do not make this a long-term extended trade war, because that just won’t be good for agriculture or for the country in general. I know that this is the way President Trump believes he’s going to create better markets long term. I hope he’s correct. But my fear is that once you lose those markets to other suppliers, it’s very hard to get them back.”
Not too rosy.
Another farm owner, Jennifer Gilkerson, didn’t feel quite as optimistic as Mr. Hemesath, if you could call his view optimistic. She said:
“We’re just in such a state of shock. We just don’t really even know how to respond to all this. We thought that this was sacred and really untouchable. Everyone thinks all farmers voted for this, but we did not vote for this.”
I took extreme exception to her view.
First, her idea that the farmers would be untouchable is completely self-serving. So long as her industry would not be impacted by Trump’s policies, all is okay. I guess she was wrong.
Then, the idea that farmers didn’t vote for this is ludicrous. 77% to 78% of farmers voted for Trump in 2024. (https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-farmers-voted-trump-feeling-210000721.html) They got the president they wanted. What exactly did farmers vote for, then?
Farmers, welcome to the world of fear, like the fear facing thousands of federal workers who are threatened with being terminated, not because of poor job performance or because they aren’t needed, but because they are the low hanging fruit, easiest to pick off; of US citizens who are being stopped/detained by ICE because of their ethnicity (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/us-citizen-hispanic-detained-ice-questions-vote-trump-rcna195406); of transgender people who are being villainized, losing jobs not because they did anything wrong but because our government doesn’t like them.
I don’t relish farmers’ pain. Still, it is hard to feel sympathy. They had a choice, and they chose hate for people not like themselves, pain for others. They chose lies over truth (https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/01/politics/analysis-donald-trumps-campaign-of-relentless-lying/index.html).
I am a ridiculous optimist, which explains my hope that maybe some good can come from this. Here is a comment on the NBC News article:
“I live near a rural area with tons of farms. I remember for the longest there was a big sign in front of one of the farms that said ‘Trump Country.’ In recent times the sign has disappeared. I wonder why.”
It is just so very sad that people need to actually feel the pain others are feeling to start to change their minds.
Agree. Time to wake up. Everyone!