Your browser doesn't support audio playback.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has canceled a large grant program that has provided millions of dollars in annual funding to West Virginia.
The Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021. The ended program included a five-year, $8.5 million cooperative agreement for the WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health.
The letter to WVU said the USDA “has determined this program involved discriminatory preferences based on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and wasteful spending that did little to further lawful agricultural land purchases.”
A statement from West Virginia University indicates one program on the chopping block is Nourish WV. This program brings together “local farmers and health care systems, ensuring that fresh, mountain-state food reaches vulnerable communities while providing fair pricing for farmers.”
This is one of many “Food is Medicine” initiatives across the country. Just last week, the Highmark Foundation donated $1 million to the Food for Mountaineers program which tracks food insecurity in the state.
West Virginia is also the recipient of nearly $200 million in funding from the Rural Health Transformation Program. The money is intended to help offset nearly $1 billion in losses expected in the state with cuts to the Medicaid program as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill passed last summer. One aspect of that grant program, and the Make America Healthy Again movement in general, is access to healthy, locally sourced and natural foods.
The federal program in its entirety was worth $300 million and has been canceled as of March 26. Several fully grant-funded positions will be eliminated. Affected employees have been notified.