How Serious Might Impacts to Our Food System Be?

By MaryK | TVCGCoop Co-Founder
February 17th, 2025

Fruit imports from Mexico on average accounted for 20% of U.S. total fresh fruit imports in 2000. In 2020, the percentage reached 49%. For fresh vegetables, imports from Mexico on average accounted for 68% of the total U.S. imports in 2000; it increased to 72% in 2020. Canada has been supplying the U.S. with meat and dairy, along with desirable crops such as mushrooms. These statistics show that the U.S. has increasingly counted on imports for a great deal of regularly consumed foods. See sources below for more.

Thinking About Local Farmers

Possible impacts to local farmers and the continued impact of the federal funding freeze. As of February 11th, this disruption is delaying essential resources around the U.S., putting strain on farms that rely on these funds to sustain and transition their operations.

The funding freeze adds another layer of uncertainty, especially for those engaged in sustainable and regenerative agriculture initiatives, as they often depend on federal grants and subsidies to make long-term improvements.

Gardeners can deeply empathize with these struggles

Those who grow food—even on a small scale—understand the time, effort, and resilience required to cultivate crops. The ability to plant, grow, and harvest is fundamental, and knowing that local farmers are struggling to secure the necessary support fosters a shared sense of urgency and solidarity. Many gardeners, through community efforts and direct engagement, already seek ways to support local food systems, whether through farmers’ markets, CSAs, or mutual aid networks.

This is an important moment to reflect on how federal policies directly impact food production at every level—from large-scale farms to smaller farms implementing regenerative and organic practices. As we move through the season, we can uplift farmers by purchasing locally, advocating for better agricultural policies, and ensuring that community gardens and food networks remain strong.

For a more in-depth look at how the funding freeze is affecting farmers across the country, Funding Freeze Creates Chaos and Financial Distress for Farmers by Lisa Held, Civil Eats (February 11, 2025) provides a detailed analysis.

The Idaho Organization of Resource Councils (IORC) is doing critical work to protect our farmworkers—those who have made it possible for us to eat, and who have been behind the wide selection of grocery store produce year in and out for the majority of our lives.

No matter your cultural background, no matter how far back, all of our ancestors knew what hunger was, and what the increased cost of food meant for their communities and families. I say this as a point of finding common ground in confusing times.

I say this with strength inspired by lessons learned, read about, listened to when shared, and with the strength of a few seasons of testing a whole slew of methods in the garden setting. Now is a good time to plan to grow at least some of the food you want to eat.

Sources

Funding Freeze Creates Chaos and Financial Distress for Farmers
Efforts to transition farms to regenerative agriculture are stalled, and the path forward is unclear.
By Lisa Held, Civil Eats
February 11, 2025

The U.S. Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Industry | Agriculture: An Overview of Production and Trade. Huang, K.-M., Guan, Z., & Hammami, A. (2022).

Why tariffs on Mexico and Canada could drive up grocery costs, in 3 charts
By Annette Choi, CNN
Sat February 1, 2025