DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – For more than a year, the Illinois Equitable Access Towards Sustainable Systems (IL EATS) connected local farmers with their neighbors in need. Farmers would sell their products to food banks and be reimbursed by the federal government.
When the funding ran out earlier this year, the Illinois government stepped in to fill the gap.
However, that funding ended July 1, 2025, so now the IL EATS program is done.
For farmers like Ed Dubrick, with DuChick Ranch, that means cutting down on the amount of food they are producing, and trying to find other ways to sell it.
"IL EATS truly uplifted both ends of the food system," said Dubrick. "You’re supporting small farms that are getting started. You’re helping your neighbors in need. I really thought it was a great program."
Dubrick is also a policy organizer with Illinois Stewardship Alliance. Through his work at the Alliance, he’s learned just how crucial producers like him are.
He has provided various poultry items for several local food banks, including the Eastern Illinois Food Bank and Central Illinois Food Bank. He shared the story of a father who called him recently after receiving chicken from the farm at his food bank.
"He said, ‘I’m a father, I’ve got two kids. I want them to be healthy. I want them to eat good food. I simply can’t give them that right now. And tonight we cooked one of your chickens, and I felt like I was being that good dad I [wanted] to be.’" said Dubrick. "I mean I was in tears on the phone call talking to him."
Dubrick said most farmers knew the program was coming to an end about three months in advance. For him, that meant cutting down on expected sales and adjusting his flock accordingly. But beef and pork producers couldn’t adjust as quickly.
Now Dubrick says these farmers are stuck with animals they could not process in time because they were not fully grown.
"There are farmers in Illinois who answered the call to grow this food for their food banks, knowing that they’d have a channel for their products and that they were going to serve that need for it and now the money’s been pulled," said Dubrick.
Dubrick says he and other farmers are working to find alternatives to keep their farms afloat.
For details about the IL EATS program, visit their website.
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