As the government shutdown enters its third week, the consequences for food producers and eaters are wide-ranging. From food pantries to breweries to farms, the furloughing of 800,000 federal staffers means expected government payments and other essential services are being delayed indefinitely.
One under-the-radar outcome is an uncertain future for grant funds distributed by understaffed USDA departments. Nony Dutton, director of markets and programs at FreshFarm in Washington, D.C., says that the farmers’ market organization is in the dark about the fate of a food access grant it relies on during the winter months.
“Everything has come to a standstill for us,” Dutton says.
FreshFarm received a $250,000 award from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in 2017 for a farmers market matching program for participants in SNAP, the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program. FreshFarm matches SNAP users’ benefits up to $10 for purchasing fruits and vegetables at select farmers markets. During the winter months, the funds support outreach, education, and promotion so that low-income communities are aware of the program.
But NIFA is down to just 1 percent of its staff — 4 of 399 employees — during the shutdown. Dutton says all of his contacts at the agency are furloughed, and he’s unclear about who to contact with questions about the fate of their funds.
“This is the worst time for us because a lot of our revenue comes during the farmers market season,” says Dutton. “This is when we’re the most cash poor. These big grants help us get through the winter.”
“We’re trying to roll out some new technology [this year], expand the program, do some more outreach and education. And now, with the lack of funding, we’re really thinking about putting these things on pause, delaying them, or rolling back the services we’re going to offer.”
This is just one of many programs that are being affected. Native American communities rely on a Department of Agriculture food program that fed an average of 90,000 people each month in 2017. The program is funded through January, but no new federal funds will be allocated if the shutdown stretches beyond then.
The shutdown has also closed much of the National Marine Fisheries Service, which permits fishing boats in the Bering Sea fisheries. With many Alaska fisheries opening in January, many vessels remain docked as they await proper permits. Many of their workers are “in purgatory.”
New beers and wines won’t enter the market during the shutdown, as the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has suspended its review of applications. All that new beer is creating a backlog, and some may even go bad in the tank.
The Department of Agriculture won’t be releasing reports on crop supply and demand in 2019, a major hurdle for farmers planning this season’s plantings. Many Farm Service Agency offices are also closed, delaying farmers who might visit to apply for loans and other federal programs, including the Trump tariff payments to farmers suffering from the trade war with China.
Restaurants that rely on E-Verify for their hiring processes have had to stall bringing on new workers while the Department of Homeland Security, which runs the program, is partially closed.
Far away from Washington, D.C., the impact of the shutdown is felt by small towns that contain many federal workers, like Ogden, Utah, home to many employees of the U.S. Forest Service.
Many have been concerned that the shutdown will impact the distribution of SNAP and other nutrition programs payments, such as for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Administration officials announced Tuesday that SNAP will be funded through the end of February if the shutdown continues. The WIC program also has sufficient funds for February.