But the USDA, under the Trump administration, abruptly halted the program in March of 2025, leaving many local growers at a loss.

Producers were frustrated because they had seen the success of the program.

They had been able to make investments into infrastructure and staffing and cooperatives had formed to have transportation to bring the products from the farms to the markets.

And then the funding was really unceremoniously and suddenly cut.

And so there was a lot of frustration amongst producers that the rug had been pulled out from underneath them when they had been told that the funding would continue.

Matt King says people whose benefits have been cut and people just struggling to make ends meet show up to the food pantries that Hunger Task Force supplies.

Prices have gone up all around us.

And meanwhile, the funding levels for those programs have remained the same.

Why is that important as part of the sustainability of this food relief program?

Well, it's really a win-win because local food assistance organizations are getting access to these high quality, locally sourced foods that they wouldn't otherwise.

But it's also stimulating and sustaining our local agricultural economy.

And in particular, in rural spaces around the state.

And it's also gotten the community really excited about that.

In Wisconsin, we have a deep community.

agricultural history, and a lot of people really relate to that.

How big a factor can a program like this, going directly to producers, play in helping address those needs?