In a powerful call to action, a coalition of 120 organizations, farmers, and medical professionals aligned with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Initiative has issued a letter to Secretary Brooke Rollins, urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to realign its policies and funding priorities. This move seeks to support programs that ensure local, healthy food reaches communities, while simultaneously safeguarding the livelihoods of farmers and the health of our land.
The letter highlights the dire state of America’s farming landscape, citing the loss of more than 162,200 farms since 2017, averaging 63 farms a day, as well as the detrimental effects of industry consolidation and soaring input costs. These challenges have been further exacerbated by recent cuts to critical USDA programs.
“Decades of unchecked industry monopoly power and rising input costs are pushing America’s best farmers to the economic brink,” said David Murphy, founder of United We Eat, and former finance director of RFK, Jr’s presidential campaign. “To grow real, healthy food and reverse chronic disease, the USDA must invest in long-term strategies that support the transition to building soil health, reducing chemical use, and producing more nutrient-rich food for our nation’s children.”
“We call on USDA to stand with farmers growing healthy food for Americans and fulfill the promise at the heart of the Make America Healthy Again movement,” said Angela Huffman, president of Farm Action. “That means putting farmers at the center of health and building a food system that, after decades of corporate influence, once again serves our freedom and prosperity.”
“Our requests are not unrealistic or partisan but are rooted in common-sense values beneficial to health, family, and farming communities across the nation. We need bold action from the USDA now. Our neighbors, these essential farmers, are losing everything,” said Zen Honeycutt, founding executive director of Moms Across America.
The letter is a clarion call for the USDA to translate the MAHA vision into practical outcomes that restore trust, strengthen rural economies, and make healthy food accessible to every family, especially in school meals.
Key Points Raised in the Letter include:
- Support for Independent Farmers: Urging the USDA to use its purchasing power to back independent, sustainable farmers, ensuring that a significant portion of funds go toward organic and pasture-based foods.
- Restoration of Food and Infrastructure Programs: Advocating for the reinstatement of programs like the Local Food for Schools and Child Care Program, which are vital for providing healthy diets to children.
- Promotion of Healthy School Meals: Encouraging a shift from ultra-processed foods to scratch cooking with whole ingredients in school meals, supported by expanded funding for kitchen equipment and culinary training.
- Advancement of Organic and Regenerative Agriculture: Calling for expanded support and technical assistance to help farmers transition to sustainable practices, thereby reducing the toxic load in children’s food.
- Strengthening the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): Highlighting the need to increase staffing and reinstate conservation projects to protect soil health.
- Reform of Agricultural Checkoff Programs: Implementing stronger controls to ensure funds benefit all farmers, not just those tied to industrial models.
- Comprehensive Relief Programs: Ensuring that financial aid reaches all farmers, especially those producing healthy food for American families.
The organizations and farmers stand united in this critical moment, asserting the need for swift, decisive action from the USDA to achieve these goals.
The core organizers of the letter have also initiated a citizen petition initiative to show broader public support for their recommendations. The petition, which is being supported by a number of organizations on their websites and Change.org, will be delivered at a later date.
Media Contacts:
Trevor Fitzgibbon, 704-775-0487
Emma Nicolas, Farm Action, [email protected], 202-450-0094
