The Creation of the Food Shortage Has Begun and What You Can Do About It

Claudia Kuhns

18 Jul 2025 — 5 min read

The current regime in Washington, D.C. is using a multi-pronged attack to create a food shortage. Food banks and food share organizations are already reporting food shortages. One food rescue worker who distributes about 1500 pounds of food a week from a local food share said that the amount of food he receives has now diminished and one week there was no food for him to distribute. It may only be a matter of time before the produce sections of grocery stores will be under-supplied or the items available will be priced out of reach for many customers. There have already been significant price increases for produce in the grocery store where I shop. Strawberries have nearly doubled in price from last year's prices. Asparagus has been 50% higher.

The food shortages at food banks can be attributed, at least in part, to the withholding of funds from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) that was passed under the Biden administration. The program set aside $1 billion dollars to assist small farmers, indigenous and under served farmers by funding schools and food banks with money to purchase food from these farmers. Funding for this program has been illegally withheld by the current regime. The president does not have the authority to impound funds authorized by Congress as shown by the rescission bill that was just passed in Congress today as a way for the current regime to withhold funding. The LFPA was supposed to have been a two year program. With these funds impounded small farmers, indigenous farmers and under-served farmers are at risk as they run on very slim margins. One pig farmer in Wisconsin who was hoping to turn a profit after ten years had her funding taken away. The people who are served by food banks will be at risk of suffering greater food insecurity. According to Food Bank of the Rockies website, 1 in 8 people is experiencing food insecurity, an increase from 1 in 9. The number for children is 1 in 7. Given the worsening economic outlook these numbers are likely to deteriorate even further.

Farm workers have been staying at home instead of going to work for fear of ICE raids. Wide-spread ICE raids started on California farms on July 10. These raids will cause more farm workers to stay home. Food will simply rot in the fields. Food is already rotting in the fields in Florida and California. California and Florida are two of the largest food producing states for fresh produce. According to Axios, the current regime wants to continue the raids and streamline the visa process in the home countries of migrants. This process could take years. With a lack of workers the even large corporate farms will suffer as food rots in the fields and crops aren't planted. There are reports that non-immigrant workers show up at the fields and don't last a day. A simple and more efficient process would be to give the workers already here amnesty as was done by Reagan and Congress in 1986. These workers who are here could then continue to work. In addition to the raids on farms in California and Florida, a meat packing plant was raided in Nebraska and a dairy farm has been raided in Vermont. The continuing raids will only increase the probability of significant food shortages.

Food shortages are destabilizing to a society. They can lead to civil unrest and government crackdowns. The current regime would like nothing better than an atmosphere of civil unrest so the it can declare a state of emergency and call out the military to be used against us. This would also allow the cancellation of elections. The cancellation of elections in 2026 would mean the end of our democracy. How can we avoid civil unrest?

First on the agenda is to grow as much of your own food as you can. Last winter I experimented with growing lettuce and kale under lights in my living room. It was a successful experiment. I was even able to transplant the second planting outdoors which gave me greens very early in the season. I am still harvesting from those transplanted greens. This coming winter I am going to expand indoor growing by making a small green house area in the kitchen and triple the amount growing are. Many of you who live in apartments may not think you can grow any food. You can. Find a sunny place in your home and plant in pots or trays there. Greens can grown larger leaves when grown in shade. Grow lights can also be purchased relatively inexpensively. These will speed up the growing process.

For those of you who have the space to grow food outside, plant extra that you can share with friends, neighbors and food pantries. Food pantries will often take even small amounts. As you learn to grow your own food you will realize the satisfaction the activity brings. The soil will nurish your body and soul. Water food not grass. Water is a precious resource and we need to use it wisely. As a point of reference, 45% of the food grown in this country during World War II was grown in home gardens. We can do that again.

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