Earth Day 2025: Fighting for the Future of Local Food

As we celebrate Earth Day, we’re reminded of the beauty, complexity, and fragility of the natural world—and our collective responsibility to care for it. At Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center, Earth Day is not just a moment for reflection. It’s a call to action.

This year, we find ourselves facing not just environmental challenges, but political ones as well. Recent federal budget cuts are threatening the very programs that help build local, climate-resilient food systems—programs like Local Food for Schools and essential farm infrastructure grants. These aren’t abstract policy decisions; they’re real losses that will be felt across Vermont and beyond.

Our friends at NOFA-VT said it best in a recent article in Seven Days:

It’s not that… without the Local Food for Schools program, there will be no food in schools. It’s just Tyson will have 100 percent of the contracts,” said NOFA-VT executive director Grace Oedel. “These meager public benefit programs are a small bulwark against those trends of consolidation.

In other words, when federal funding disappears, the gap isn’t filled by local farms. It’s filled by corporations. The future of school food, regional food security, and community resilience hangs in the balance.

And yet, we remain hopeful—because our community has always been our greatest strength.

What You Can Do

In the face of these challenges, our mission has never felt more urgent—or more important. But we can’t do it alone. Here’s how you can take action this Earth Month:

• Join a CSA — CSA members are the backbone of small farms. By purchasing a CSA share, you’re not just buying vegetables—you’re investing in a more sustainable food future.
  
  
• Get Involved Locally — Join a community working group or advisory committee to help ensure that our region’s priorities are heard and that available funding reaches the people and projects who need it most.
  
  
• Contribute to a Scholarship Fund — Whether it’s our Education Scholarship Fund or a college fund for students pursuing careers in agriculture, every dollar helps make farming and farm education more accessible.
  
  
• Support Food Access Efforts — Volunteer at your local food shelf, donate a CSA share, or “grow a row” in your garden to share the harvest. Everyone deserves access to healthy, locally grown food.

This Earth Day, Let’s Fight for the Soil—and the Soul—of Our Communities

Federal dollars are disappearing, but our determination is not. We believe that farming rooted in care—for the earth, for each other, and for future generations—matters.

We believe that small farms are essential infrastructure. And we know that together, we can push back against consolidation and build something better.

Thank you for standing with us.

In solidarity,
The Team at Cedar Circle