Elena Neal-Sacks

Earlier this year, the U.S.

Department of Agriculture ended a popular program that gave food banks money to buy fresh local produce.

Sam Thorpe co-owns the farm Spade and Plow in Morgan Hill, California, where weekly food deliveries to a local food bank are about to stop.

He says the timing is bad for everyone involved, his farm, the smaller producers he works with, and people who rely on the food bank.

The lost revenue might force Thorpe to reduce worker hours, which could mean less food growing in the ground.

The pause on SNAP benefits has also meant fewer sales at farmers markets that accept them.

For NPR News, I'm Elena Neal-Sacks.