Earthjustice’s Fight Against Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze

Executive Director, Cultivate KC

“We were ready for a year of growth and now, with the funding freeze, we are in a year of ‘Let's hold on to what we have.”

Crisp heads of lettuce, vibrant orange carrots, heirloom tomatoes. Specialty crops like these aren’t always easy to come by in an agricultural industry dominated by commodity crops like soy and corn. That’s why the nonprofit Cultivate KC supports urban farmers in the Kansas City area in growing fresh, local foods for the community. Over the last 20 years, Cultivate has taught countless urban farmers in the area, including immigrants and refugees, how to farm and get their businesses off the ground.

Executive director Brien Darby says that Cultivate KC has helped both local and national USDA staff build trust with farmers who have historically been left out of funding opportunities. When the Trump administration recently froze two of the nonprofit’s grants, it was a “slap in the face” that leaves countless farmers in limbo.

Owner, Butterbee Farm

“If contracts aren’t honored and farmers can no longer trust the government, I’m worried about what that means for the future of farming.”

Laura Beth Resnick is a regenerative flower farmer in Maryland who has sold high-quality, locally grown flowers in the Baltimore and D.C. areas for more than a decade. She received a grant to install solar panels on her barn and agreed to pay the full cost up front — approximately $72,000 — after the federal government promised to reimburse half.

After the IRA funding freeze, Resnick was fearful that she would be stuck with the entire cost of the solar project, which would impact her ability to pay her workers a decent wage and leave her farmland in a better place than when she bought it by using regenerative agriculture practices, which are often more expensive but less harmful to the land than conventional practices.

Recently, after Earthjustice filed its lawsuit against the Trump administration, Resnick received word from the federal government that her grant funds have been unfrozen. Countless other grant recipients, however, remain in limbo.

Founding President and CEO, GreenLatinos

“To many of these communities, it feels like the government is once again turning their back and forgetting about people who pay taxes and pay into the system but who don't really receive the benefits that other communities might.”

As the U.S. experiences hotter and deadlier temperatures, planting trees for shade canopy can save lives. Mark Magaña says that his organization, GreenLatinos, went through the elaborate grant application process to receive IRA funding for projects to plant trees in historically underserved communities. The funds would also address public safety hazards, like dead or dying trees.

Freezing this funding has put people’s safety at risk. Magaña says that it’s especially concerning that President Trump is using extrajudicial powers to block programs funded by the IRA, which was fully appropriated and authorized by Congress.