Black farmer cooperative calls for more government support after providing food during shutdown

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund says it’s delivered more than 3,000 pounds of produce to food banks in New Orleans and similar amounts to organizations in other states as part of a multi-state effort in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia to provide food during the recently ended government shutdown.

Executive Director Cornelius Blanding said the shutdown exposed how vulnerable food systems become without programs like the Local Food Purchase Assistance initiative, which once helped farmers move food directly into their communities. With new eligibility requirement coming to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, he said states now have a chance to step in and support local producers through their own procurement strategies.

Blanding called the primarily Black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives that make up the organization “first responders,” stepping up where federal support has stalled, but he said their numbers are on the decline. He joined WABE’s “All Things Considered” to discuss what was brought to light by the shutdown.