An advocacy group focused on strengthening food security and food systems in Alaska faced a devastating setback this month as the U.S. Department of Agriculture pulled a $6 million grant from their funding, effectively ending the in-process program.

On July 15, the Alaska Food Policy Council was notified that the USDA had terminated the Regional Food Business Center Program “effective immediately.” A press release from the organization notes that they were notified of the termination an hour before the announcement was made public.

Since May 2023, AFPC has been leading the Alaska branch of the Islands and Remote Areas Regional Food Business Center, one of 12 national centers selected by the USDA.

AFPC Executive Director Robbi Mixon described the action to terminate the program as “devastating.”

“USDA just pulled the rug out from under Alaska’s food and farm businesses, with no warning and no explanation after six months of silence,” Mixon said in the press release. “We have communities, businesses, Tribal partners, and regional organizations who have spent the past year preparing to receive urgently needed investments to strengthen local food production and distribution. This decision undermines the confidence and good-faith collaboration we’ve built with USDA and our partners across Alaska.”

The program was designed as “a five-year initiative to provide grant funding and technical assistance to small- and mid-sized food producers, processors, and distributors nationwide.” According to the press release, for Alaska, the program represented $7 million in direct and coordinated investment for food infrastructure, jobs, and local economies, with over $6 million granted for expenditures.

“Alaska’s food systems are already stretched thin by geography, logistics, and historic underinvestment,” said Mixon. “This program wasn’t just another grant. It was a pathway to real, long-term change.”

In the USDA’s July 15 statement, Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed the administration had created “massive programs without any long-term way to finance them,” stating that the RFBC program is “not sustainable for farmers” and out of line with Congressional intent. AFPC states that they “strongly reject this justification.”

“Our Regional Food Business Center has been intentionally focused on supporting systems-level change from day one,” Mixon said. “We have designed every aspect of this effort to be sustainable, locally driven, and responsive to the real needs of rural and remote communities. This was not a patchwork grant scheme — it was a well-planned, strategic investment to strengthen long-neglected food systems across Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. Territories for lasting improvements. The claim that this work was unsustainable or misaligned with intent is simply not true.”

According to the press release, AFPC and its partners across the state had been actively coordinating with food and farm businesses to launch the program, with initial grant applications and technical assistance support scheduled to begin later this summer.

“We are deeply disappointed, but we’re not going anywhere,” said Mixon. “This decision reinforces how vulnerable local food systems are to federal unpredictability. AFPC will continue to advocate for meaningful, community-rooted investments that honor the resilience and innovation of Alaska’s growers, businesses, and food leaders.”

You can find more information on the RFBC Program on AFPC’s website at www.akfoodpolicycouncil.org.