‘It’s bankruptcy bad’ – local farmer discusses $1 billion in federal food cuts

By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

“This just came so suddenly,” said West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt in a phone interview on Wednesday of the millions in food cuts. “This is gonna hurt.” 

Leonhardt was referencing the news first reported by Politico on Tuesday that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) cut over $1 billion in funds from two programs local food in schools and food pantries across the nation. In West Virginia, the cuts total more than $8 million.

The cuts appear to be part of the effort by the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to identify waste and achieve savings. 

‘If this doesn’t get straightened out, it’s bankruptcy bad’

“Sure, go for it,” says Trey Yates, owner of Greenbrier Dairy, of spending cuts. “But investing in local food that helps with people that are hungry and kids in the school system? Anybody that believes that’s government waste is in left field. That’s an investment in our future. And helping the less fortunate. It’s an investment, not a waste.”

Yates does business with 20 county school systems across West Virginia plus the state’s largest food pantry supplier, Mountaineer Food Bank. Greenbrier Dairy supplies local butter, cheese, and yogurt. 

“98% of our business is schools and food banks,” Yates says. “If this doesn’t get straightened out, it’s bankruptcy bad.” 

Yates is not alone. Dozens of farms across the state sell their products to county school systems each year as part of the Local Food for Schools (LFP) Cooperative Agreement. It amounts to a cut of approximately $4 million for the West Virginia School Nutrition Office. 

The West Virginia Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Local officials say they are still awaiting official word from the state. 

“We don’t really know much,” said Heather Lively, Director of Child Nutrition for Greenbrier County Schools on Tuesday. “We don’t know what the budget cuts are gonna be for us.”

According to Lively, she is required by state law to purchase a certain amount of food from local providers, but she doesn’t know how that will be possible with the deep budget cuts. 

“We have so many good farm providers in this area,” she reflected. “Just Monday I sent out a big order.” 

In southeastern West Virginia, farm providers for schools include Greenbrier Dairy, Mountain Steer Meat, Spangler Farms, Sunset Berry Farms, Rainbow Farms, and WV Harvest, among others. 

“It (the LFPA program) gives them (counties) purchasing power to buy local goods,” Yates explained. “Local product is more expensive. But it’s an investment in the local economy and in kids health. Without that funding, they won’t be able to afford it.”

Food pantries will feel the cuts too

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. 

Over the past three years, WVDA has received more than $4 million from the USDA which they pass along to Mountaineer Food Bank and Facing Hunger. 

“The cancellation of the LFPA program will strip $2.2 million in funding from West Virginia’s small farmers and take food off the plates of 260,000 food-insecure residents,” said Mountaineer Food Bank CEO Chad Morrison. “Cuts to federal commodity deliveries and programs like LFPA, which are crucial for food pantries, will further widen the gap for families in need. These reductions place an unsustainable burden on the state’s two food banks and the network of charitable feeding programs, making it increasingly difficult to meet the growing demand for assistance.”

“They will need more funds to buy food,” Commissioner Leonhardt said. “This was a surprise.” 

“If we don’t have a replacement (for the funding), we’re gonna continue to go down the path we’ve been on with not the best medical outcomes,” Leonhardt observed. “A lot of it stems from what we eat. We can’t be short sighted and need to get better diets in our schools.”

Leonhardt hopes the Legislature will consider funding the WV Fresh Food Act and WV Grown, two unfunded initiatives to connect local farmers with local customers across the state. 

“Let’s help our producers develop new markets and help see what we can do to make up the difference,” he said on Wednesday. “This (sudden cuts) doesn’t give the farms a chance to prepare. They only have so much capacity. They can’t build their farm or business in another direction. We prefer to see a weaning than a drastic cut like they’re doing.”

‘I don’t want lip service’

RealWV reached out to the two senators (Sen. Vince Deeds and Sen. Jack David Woodrum, Republicans) who represent Trey Yates and Greenbrier Dairy in the WV Legislature. Neither responded.

Delegate Ray Canterbury (R-Greenbrier) did respond to a request for comment later in the day after this article first published, saying he would do everything he could to reverse the decision.

“I have initiated the process for a legislative resolution asking our lawmakers and the President to reconsider this cut,” said Canterbury. “This decision was made at the Federal level, so our options might be limited.  However, this is still a very important matter for farmers and consumers in my district, and I will work with the Commissioner and with my colleagues here in the legislature to do everything within our power to reverse this decision.”

US Senator Shelley Moore Capito responded to RealWV’s request for comment on Thursday morning, saying, “I believe that the Federal Government has an obligation to review spending for waste, fraud, and abuses that exist. The Trump administration has hit the ground running to deliver on what President Trump was elected to do, and I encourage them to act in a deliberative and transparent manner in their reviews. At the same time, I understand the concerns that some have and will monitor the DOGE efforts closely, as I have been, to fully understand the impacts and to make sure these are being conducted fairly.”

“On the phone they’ll (elected officials) tell us it will tank our local economies, but they won’t say it in public,” Trey Yates added. “There’s no comments from them publicly. That frustrates me. I don’t want the lip service. I want them to stand up for what’s right. That’s what they’re elected to do.”

Stay tuned to RealWV for updates on this developing story.

*AUTHOR’S NOTE: Comments from Sen. Capito. Del. Canterbury, and Chad Morrison were added to the original story following initial publication.