Federal DEI cuts cancel $500K farm-to-table grant for local nonprofit

The recent federal mandate concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives cancelled a $500,000 farm-to-table grant in Madison, The Capital Times reports. The funding awarded to nonprofit FairShare CSA Coalition would have expanded community-supported agriculture, wherein people purchase a share of a farm’s produce in advance in exchange for boxes of food throughout the growing season. 

The Farmers Market Promotional Program, run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provided the grant, and funds were anticipated to be distributed over three years, through 2027. 

Clare Stoner Fehsenfeld, FairShare’s executive director, received a letter from the USDA on Feb. 14 stating it had terminated the award as it “no longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion program[s] and activities.” The nonprofit had included the word “equitable” in the funded project’s title, “CSA for All: Strategic Marketing for Equitable CSA Expansion.”

To help farmers connect more effectively with consumers, FairShare surveyed CSA participants across demographics to determine the best models, produced multilingual marketing materials, and formed a farmer advisory committee. Extensive work had already gone into the project when its funding was cut.