Cows at Destiny Dairy Bar in Carlisle, Pennsylvania June 30, 2025 (John Cole/Capital-Star)
Amy Brickner, third -generation milk breeder and owner Destiny Dairy Bar in Cumberland, was able to cooperate with The Safe port Carlisle shelter over the past two years to provide milk with those in need.
The effort is part of the federal initiative known as a local program of cooperation in helping in buying food or Lfpa.
Brickner opened the milk bar in 2022 and claims that it accounts for a 10% market share of its farm. He looks at the initiative as a win.
“At the beginning I dropped a lot of milk, and then I started getting pigs. And so I could feed milk to pigs. But they were still bottles, labels and childbirth that were wasted,” she said. “So my friend approached me … (who) attracted me to a safe port. They came here once a week, and every milk that was dated closely, but was still stable on the shelf for the next week, he would go to this program and gave them to their residents.”
The program was adopted Under the administration of President Joe Biden in 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. At least 189 Pennsylvania Farms, like Brickner, is participants and provides products with 14 food banks throughout their entire state.
In December last year, Biden administration announced that her contract with the community was renewed for three years and $ 13 million. According to Josh Shapiro’s office, LFPA provided almost $ 30 million in financing participating Pennsylvania Farms to provide fresh, locally cultivated products for food banks.
However, the Trump administration announced in March that they were Completion of the programArguing that it was created through the executive body as part of the previous administration and “no longer affects the agency’s purposes.”
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As a result, Brickner claims that it was more complex to make the end end at the end, and also contribute to shelter and the army of salvation.
“I am very attached from the point of view of cash flows, and the lack of an additional 10% was not quite difficult,” said Brickner The Capital-Star. “Sometimes it is difficult to pay my bills, and I myself all this myself.”
Brickner said that he still transfers milk to Safe Harbor every other week, despite the cancellation of the program, because the combination “was so amazing.” He swears that he still does it until he is able to make him work economically.
Shapiro, State Agriculture para. Russell Redding and all four chairmen of the Agricultural Committees of the General Assembly (two Republicans and two Democrats), this week visited the Dairy Bar Destiny bar to visit the farm, advertise the benefits of the program and call on Trump’s administration to reconsider its cancellation.
“I think it is important to remember that we are all here,” said Shapiro. “We work closely to support agriculture in Pennsylvania and we all stood together in supporting the LFPA program, which is extremely important for supporting such places and food banks that provide your product.”
“This is an example of what should take the attention of people, Republicans and Democrats work together on the support of one of the main industries,” he added.
From canceling the program, Shapiro was in the front and in the middle In various locations throughout the community of nations, they describe his support in detail. The LFPA initiative acts as a reimbursement program, and the state does not receive federal funds until it pays farmers and provides receipts.
At the beginning of last month Shapiro announced that his administration intricate lawsuit In the American District Court in Harrisburg, the judge’s request to reverse the decision of the Federal Department of Agriculture on the cancellation of the contract from Pennsylvania.
“We had to continue legal medicine. I would like us not to be, and we intend to go through this process,” Shapiro told journalists on Monday.
The USDA spokesman said earlier Capital-StarShortly after submitting the claim that the agency does not “comment on waiting disputes” and sent questions to the US Department of Justice.
Shapiro said that LFPA financing is from 10% to 15% of the annual market share for many other participating farmers.
Senator of State Judah Schwank, chairwoman of the democratic and minority of the Agricultural Committee and the Country Chamber, said that in her research facilitate in the collection of food serving Berks and Schuylkill, lost about 15% of funds that they received as a result of cancellation.
June 18 Rep. Dan Moul, a republican from Adams and chairman of the minority committee for agriculture and rural matters, He wrote a letter with the signatures of other chairmen of the AG panels to the Congress Delegation. They called them to push the federal government to restore funds.
“Considering the administration involvement in supporting small farmers and improving public health through better nutrition, we believe that the LFPA program is clearly consistent with national priorities and should be continued,” we read in the letter.
Moul said “this program should be intact.”
“We all need agriculture. We all need help and we must restore this funds where it belongs,” he added.
Talking to the Capital Star on the route, Moul emphasized that the chairman of the committees that were at hand are not part of the claim filed by Shapiro administration, but took part in discussing the benefits of LFPA.
“We are here to say that this is an important program in Pennsylvania,” said Moul. “Agriculture in Pennsylvania and food banks as well as in the program of things that have been taken are such a small spot compared to our federal budget.”
“Why take it?” Moul added. “It’s agriculture. It’s food. It’s not a waste of money. This money goes to a good, good reason and helps people.”
Shapiro said earlier that the state has no money for breathing federal cuts if the claim fails.
Moul told Capital-Star that the legislator may accept a resolution with the request of the federal government to restore financing, noting that double-sided support presented in the letter should resonate with a congress delegation.
“I know that when they got this letter, when their staff got this letter, they said:” Hey, all four chairman of agriculture here in Pennsylvania wants this financing to get away. Let’s fight for it, “said Moul. “And we hope for that.”
Moul said he was good friends with the American representative John Joyce (R-13th Distric) and that if he doesn’t see the action soon, he lobbys on behalf of the program restoration.
“I will call him personally and say:” Hey, John, I want you to do a favor for me. Would you go to DC and fight to restore this fund? ” – said Moul.” I think that the ax was used and when it should be a scalpel. “
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Talks regarding the Act on reconciliation dominated discourse for members of the American Chamber and Senate in recent weeks. Noticing that, together with a letter sent only recently and the upcoming holiday weekend, Moul said that federal legislators have other things.
“But as soon as it ends, as soon as the holidays are behind us, then we will have to stick a little more,” said Moul. “I’ll start taking phone calls.”
Another influential member of agricultural policy at the federal level is the US representative Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-15th district). Count County Republican is the chairman of the house in the Agricultural Committee.
Moul said he was also a friend of Thompson and said he would contact him.
“He has a lot,” said Moul. “Restoring funds, I think we can do it.”
Other selected leaders are also optimists that the program will return.
“I think you know my achievements about these legal processes – said Shapiro. “We win them because the law is on our side.”
“They had a contract with good residents of Pennsylvania. It was a clear three-year contract,” he added. “They broke it four months and I’m sure we’ll get there at the end of the day.”
Brickner said that she believes in the legislators who are taking part in the fight to make sure that she can still facilitate people in her community, without her financially suffering company.
