Federal cuts to food benefit program funding throughout 2025 are rippling out into Maine’s agriculture industry.
Programs providing for purchases directly from Maine farmers to supply food access programs had paid growers on a steady upward trend between 2022 and 2024, from more than $2.75 million to more than $3.5 million.
That appeared to provide Maine farms a promising option for additional revenue streams, as many operations struggle to break even and look to diversify.
But last year, the state saw “pretty significant decreases” in funding for some of those programs as federal priorities changed, according to Sarah Alexander, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Total numbers are not yet available for 2025.
“When these programs are decreased, that has a big impact on Maine farms and the profitability of Maine’s farms, because these dollars are supporting our local producers and our local farms,” she said.
MOFGA presented the food access program funding information at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show in Augusta on Tuesday as an addendum to an economic impact report the group released earlier this year.
The programs that paid farmers directly included WIC, Farm Fresh Rewards, SNAP and Maine Harvest Bucks.
But most of the money farmers received came from Mainers Feeding Mainers, a Good Shepherd Food Bank program that currently buys produce directly from 90 local farmers.
This spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ended its Local Food Purchasing Agreement Program, which had given Good Shepherd $1.2 million to buy produce from local farms, according to Heather Reynolds, the food bank’s director of marketing and communications.
Mainers Feeding Mainers is also funded by $1 million from state government, which the food bank has requested to be doubled this year. The program will continue to operate, though this year its purchasing power was reduced, according to Reynolds.
“We will not get federal funding to purchase produce any longer,” she said. “That money is not coming back.”
MOFGA’s initial economic impact report also found that Maine’s organic farms on the whole were struggling financially, which it said could be a factor in the decreasing number of certified organic operations here. The food access program data shared Tuesday also includes non-organic farms.
When the report was first released in July, the organization also noted that cuts to purchasing programs could harm already struggling farms.
“This is an area that had a very hopeful growth trend, and we’re concerned [about] what that’s going to look like in the future,” Alexander said.