Tell Congress: Support Family Farms & Local Food During COVID-19 Crisis!

The global COVID-19 pandemic is touching every part of our lives, including food and agriculture. Necessary measures to contain the spread of the virus have resulted in the immediate loss of key markets for growers, as ongoing uncertainty threatens farmers’ ability to plan for the growing season. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of people nationwide have been laid off, and the need for emergency support–including food–for the most vulnerable in our society is now.

Early drafts of legislation and stimulus packages sorely lacked mention of small and mid-scale family farmers, including historically underserved farmers.

We need your help TODAY: Congress is making decisions right now on aid for people and businesses impacted by the pandemic. 

Now is the time to make sure that farmers, ranchers, and the innovative businesses building resilient local food systems get the support they need to continue feeding our communities, paying their employees, and responding rapidly to emergency needs. In California, the closure of many businesses, such as corporate offices and restaurants, has eliminated markets that local farms were serving. CAFF has been working to keep farmers’ markets open, but we need to find other ways for farmers to sell their healthy food to the public and sustain our rural economy. And in whatever ways possible, we need to focus as well as on historically marginalized and undocumented farmers, who face unique challenges.

Please contact your members of Congress today! A vote is expected soon. Please send the email letter here and/or call your representative now. You can easily find their contact info here.

Sincerely,

Dave Runsten, Policy Director, on behalf of the CAFF Team (Holly, Megan, Paul, Sara, Emily, Evan, Frank, Kali, Yousef, Ben, Michelle, Josefina, and Samir)