At Island Grown Initiative (IGI) we work to build a food-secure community here on the Vineyard, where all people can have access to the food they need with dignity for now and in the future. Recent actions at the federal level, however, pose serious risks to our collective ability to safeguard food access in both the short- and long-term, especially for those most vulnerable to food insecurity.

Funding cuts to the programs that are the heart of our work at IGI — including food pantries, school meals, support for local farmers, climate-forward agriculture and more — warrant our attention and action.

The Biden administration pledged over $20 billion dollars to American farmers to adopt conservation and climate-forward farming practices. But in the earliest days of the Trump administration, funds that farmers across the country had already been promised were frozen, and contractually pledged funds have not been delivered.

Most farmers, especially small and mid-sized farmers who help feed their communities, do not operate with margins that can sustain this kind of shortfall. We do not yet know how many farms will be able to withstand this loss of pledged funds, but imperiling our farms, farmers and farming communities has serious implications for food security for us all.

Then in early March, the USDA said it would cut $1 billion from programs designed to pay farmers to grow food for food banks and for schools. Shortly after, they announced cancellations of scheduled food deliveries to food assistance programs. Pantries are already straining to meet record need amidst skyrocketing food prices, including our Island Food Pantry which has seen more than a doubling of need since 2019. We now serve 1 in 5 members of our year-round Island community.

Most pantries will not be able to meet the needs of their clients without public funding support, which means more Americans, including children and elders, will suffer without access to adequate food and nutrition.

The USDA cuts announced last month also mean that Massachusetts will lose $12.2 million that had been pledged for our schools to buy food from local farmers. Almost 30 million American children rely on the meals they receive at school, and access to school meals is proven to improve children’s health and academic performance. Yet congress has introduced a proposal to cut another $12 billion from federally-funded school meals programs, a loss that states will not be able to make up and which will have devastating impacts on children, schools and families.

These challenges are compounded by the uncertainty in the global food system from the new tariffs announced by the Trump administration, by crackdowns on immigration that will impact the agricultural labor force, by proposed cuts to federal food access programs including SNAP, and the reversal of climate protective measures that we need to be able to grow food reliably in the future.

There is a gift in living through a time of great change like the one we are in. What we do now will have a meaningful impact on the future, and on the world our children and the generations to follow will inherit.

Here are some actions you can take.

Speak up on policy issues that impact our food supply. Our state and local officials and congresspeople need to hear from us to know that these issues matter to us.

Support local farmers by buying the food they grow and asking grocers and restaurants to carry locally and regionally grown foods.

Give to local organizations working to build and defend a strong food system. With the loss of public investment in the food system, we will need your funding support now more than ever.

Volunteer with groups like IGI to help grow and harvest food, teach about food and distribute food to those who need it the most.

Reduce food waste. Check out The Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook from a local library or buy a copy at Bunch of Grapes Bookstore to learn practical tips for reducing food waste at home.

Donate excess produce and dry goods to the Food Pantry or places like the West Tisbury Library Community Freedge. Practice composting at home, and support efforts to install food waste recyclers at Island schools and transfer stations.

Grow food at home, for yourself, your family, your neighbors, or to donate to local food pantries. This can be in a grow box on your windowsill, a milk crate on your porch or in a garden. Keep your eyes out for educational workshops about home food production hosted by the Agricultural Society, local libraries, IGI and others. Food security begins at home!

The threats our food system faces are real, but the opportunity to act together to build a food secure future is in our hands. For nearly two decades, IGI has worked with our community to confront urgent challenges around food access, equity and sustainability. But the stakes are rising, and we cannot meet this moment alone. Add your voice. Show up. Take action.

Together, we can push back and build a food system that truly serves us all.

Noli Taylor is a co-executive director of Island Grown Initiative.