The strength of our food system depends on the people who grow, harvest, and sell food in our communities. Every meal on our tables, every market stocked with fresh produce, and every family farm thriving across Kansas is part of that network. Supporting farmers means supporting our health, local economies, and our shared future. That is why the work we do at the Kansas Rural Center matters so deeply.

When I stepped into the role of Farm Business Navigator, I did so because I believe farmers and food businesses deserve more than encouragement. They deserve real tools and the guidance to succeed. Through our collaboration at the USDA funded Heartland Regional Food Business Center, I’ve had the chance to walk alongside farm entrepreneurs across Kansas, listening to their barriers and connecting them to resources. Whether assisting with business planning, mentorship, land access, capital, or markets, my work has always been about guiding farmers to what they need, when they need it, so they can flourish. So we all can.

That commitment hasn’t changed. What has changed is the ground beneath us. In January, the USDA froze the agreements that funded the Regional Food Business Centers, leaving us and our partners in limbo for months. On July 15, the final decision came abruptly: the program was terminated. The last official day for the Heartland Regional Food Business Center was September 15, 2025. Ours was one of the fortunate centers allowed to keep the funding we had already promised to farmers and food businesses through the Business Builder subaward grant program. This was what mattered most: keeping promises to farmers.

At the Kansas Rural Center, our work is led by and for farmers and ranchers who strive to help each other and their communities grow healthy food and farming systems here in Kansas. We envision and strive for a future of thriving family farms, revitalized communities, a clean environment, healthy local and regional food systems, and viable livelihoods for farmers, including opportunities for the next generation who will grow our food. Our mission is to promote the long-term health of the land and its people through research, education, and advocacy. Kansas Rural Center cultivates grassroots support for public policies that encourage family farming and stewardship of the soil and water, while remaining committed to economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially sustainable agriculture and rural culture.

This aligns seamlessly with the vision and mission of the former regional food business center: to ensure that small, mid-size, diverse, and historically underserved farm and food entrepreneurs benefit from the right resource at the right time, and to make locally produced food a reliable, everyday choice in building resilient communities.

For a time, our future felt uncertain. We submitted grant proposals, stretched every dollar, and explored every possible path forward, unsure if new support would come in time. But today, I can share hopeful news — the Kansas Rural Center has received generous support from the Patterson Family Foundation that will allow us to continue this project for years to come. This investment means we can maintain our momentum, preserve staff capacity, and keep providing the assistance and mentorship that farmers deserve. At the same time, our coalition has pivoted — with the Heartland Regional Food Business Center reemerging as the Heartland Food Business Coalition — to ensure this work carries forward in new and resilient ways across the entire region.

And our shared values — access, equity, justice, and wealth building — remind us why this work matters. Access, because everyone deserves local, high-quality, affordable food. Equity, because our food system must reflect and strengthen diverse people and communities. Justice, because food system work should restore and regenerate. And wealth building, because resilient food systems create more than profit. They build social, cultural, natural, and community capital.

This moment is deeply personal for everyone involved. Behind every funding application and strategy session are real farmers and food businesses whose work feeds their neighbors. Their resilience is what inspires us to keep going. But we cannot do this alone. The future of local food and farming depends on public support. Support from policymakers, funders, community members, and all of us who value the ability to put healthy, local food on our tables. Whether it’s showing up at meetings, lending your voice to policy conversations, supporting your local farmers, or simply sharing why this work matters, every action counts.

We may not know every challenge ahead, but we do know this: farmers will keep showing up for us, and we must keep showing up for them. When we stand beside the people who feed us, we are investing in more than food. We are investing in strong families, thriving communities, and the health of our land its people for generations to come.