From solar-powered greenhouses to wild rice initiatives, the Trump administration cut funding for nearly two dozen farm and food resilience projects.
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From solar-powered greenhouses to wild rice initiatives, the Trump administration cut funding for nearly two dozen farm and food resilience projects.
July 23, 2025
Sprinklers water an agricultural field on July 3, 2024, near Coachella, California, as a heat wave pushed temperatures above 120 degrees. This year, the Trump administration cut a program in Coachella Valley that would have helped farmers build solar-powered greenhouses and a native tree nursery. (Photo credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to “unleash” U.S. energy. The order directed the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin, to immediately pause previously approved disbursements of funds that were inconsistent with the president’s new energy priorities.
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As a result, hundreds of environmental justice grants were cancelled by the EPA. Among these were 21 projects designed to improve climate, farming, and food resilience in underserved communities across the United States.
The organizations guiding these projects now face a significant loss of funding, ranging from $155,000 to $20 million each, according to federal documents obtained by Civil Eats through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
After Trump’s executive order, some funds were immediately frozen, with organizations receiving little to no communication from the EPA as to why or for how long. Between late March and early May, the groups began receiving letters notifying them that their grants had been terminated.
To find the cancelled climate, farming, and food equity grants, Civil Eats examined a list of 400 environmental justice grants slated for termination, published by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and cross-referenced the list with hundreds of grant descriptions made public by the EPA. Through FOIA requests, we verified that each of the 21 projects below had been terminated.
When asked why these equity grants had been cancelled, the EPA press office told Civil Eats in an email, “Maybe the Biden-Harris Administration shouldn’t have forced their radical agenda of wasteful DEI programs and ‘environmental justice’ preferencing on the EPA’s core mission. The Trump EPA will continue to work with states, tribes, and communities to support projects that advance the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
Building Climate Resilient Communities in the Eastern Coachella Valley
Recipient: Pueblo Unido, CDC
State: California
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $18.8 million
Project Description: Pueblo Unido planned to use the funding to build four geothermal, solar-powered greenhouses in California’s Eastern Coachella Valley, supporting vertical hydroponic farming and offering training and jobs for “controlled environment agriculture” workers. Project plans included a nursery to propagate native tree seedlings for free distribution to the community.
Denver Urban Gardens Dig Deeper Initiative
Recipient: Denver Urban Gardens
State: Colorado
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $500,000
Project Description: The Dig Deeper Initiative aimed to address environmental justice issues through planting community gardens and food forests in West Denver neighborhoods. The green spaces were meant to decrease the urban “heat island” effect, improve overall air quality, and increase residents’ access to fresh, healthy foods.
Drying Seaweed Using Waste Heat
Recipient: Prince William Sound Science Technology Institute
State: Alaska
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $477,135
Project Description: This project planned to explore whether waste heat from a diesel power plant could be used efficiently to dry large quantities of seaweed. The goal was to eliminate processing roadblocks, grow the local mariculture industry, and increase food security.
Engaging Communities for a Resilient and Sustainable Waco and McLennan County
Recipient: Mission Waco, Mission World
State: Texas
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $18.9 million
Project Description: Mission Waco and its partners planned to divert food waste from landfills by expanding residential and commercial composting programs in McLennan County and its largest city, Waco. They also planned to create numerous internship, training, and professional development opportunities focused on food-waste diversion.
From Food Waste to Opportunity
Recipient: Rhode Island Food Policy Council
State: Rhode Island
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $18.7 million
Project Description: Rhode Island Food Policy Council planned to address food waste in Rhode Island through a multilevel approach. In collaboration with a coalition of organizations, the project intended to increase and improve composting infrastructure and support programs that would redirect edible food to nonprofits rather than landfills.
Growing Environmental Justice Through Community Food Forest Development
Recipient: United Charitable
State: Maine
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $500,000
Project Description: Working with 11 partner organizations, United Charitable planned to develop eight food forests to increase climate resiliency and food security for Maine communities disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice. United Charitable planned to plant and distribute 1,870 fruit and nut trees in rural areas of the state, provide educational programs, and document food-forest projects so they might be implemented elsewhere.
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Resilience Hub
Recipient: Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
State: Minnesota
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $20 million
Project Description: The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe intended to use their funding to create a Tribal Resilience Hub that would have provided essential services during emergencies. They also planned to install rain gardens, plant community gardens, and invest in electric vehicles and transportation infrastructure.
Local Food Access and EJ Leadership Capacity Building Initiative
Recipient: Ecolibrium3
State: Minnesota
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $500,000
Project Description: The Lincoln Park Local Foods Local Places Action Plan would have researched social determinants of health in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The project would also have created several different employment opportunities, including a neighborhood farmer-in-residence position to steward the expansion of urban agriculture education, support small grocery stores, expand land analysis and garden development, and explore using waste heat for food production.
Michigan Tribal and State Wild Rice Initiative
Recipient: Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan
State: Michigan
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program
Grant Amount: $3 million
Project Description: The Wild Rice Initiative would have used the funding to support the meaningful participation of Michigan’s federally recognized tribal governments in the Tribal-State Manoomin Stewardship Plan to protect wild rice.
Okanogan County Microgrid Community Resilience Hubs
Recipient: Okanogan County Community Action Council
State: Washington
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $20 million
Project Description: The Okanogan County Community Action Council was going to invest in two community resilience hubs. One would have served as an emergency shelter during extreme weather conditions and as a workforce training space, while the other would have turned an old Safeway building into a solar-powered food bank with gleaning programs, nutrition classes, and a market-style pantry. Although their grant didn’t appear on the Senate’s termination list, it was announced by the EPA in December—and then never materialized, according to the Council. According to information obtained from the EPA through a FOIA, the grant “was never awarded.”
Placemaking to Address Food Equity and Environmental Sustainability in Southeast Kansas
Recipient: Kansas Department of Health and Environment
State: Kansas
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program
Grant Amount: $1 million
Project Description: This project intended to use grant funding to promote food equity and environmental justice in Labette, Montgomery, and Cherokee counties through edible landscapes on main streets and raised-bed garden kits for families.
Por las Quebradas (For the Streams)
Recipient: El Departamento de la Comida
Territory: Puerto Rico
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $11.8 million
Project Description: The Por las Quebradas project aimed to create a climate resilience hub, restore waterways, and support community education and workforce development in the farming communities of San Salvador and Borinquen, Puerto Rico. The resilience hub would have established a plant and tree nursery, created community composting facilities, and expanded an existing program that purchased surplus produce from local farmers for a community kitchen.
Enhancing Community and Environmental Sustainability through the Dos Pueblos Institute’s Climate Action Strategy
Recipient: Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians
State: California
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $20 million
Project Description: The Restoring Resilience project aimed to establish a resilience hub that would have served as an emergency shelter during wildfires and other disasters. In addition, it included plans to develop a regenerative farming operation and establish a composting facility to process organic waste.
Revitalizing Metlakatla’s Ecosystems for Future Generations
Recipient: Metlakatla Indian Community
State: Alaska
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $19.5 million
Project Description: Under this project, the Metlakatla Indian Community planned to advance regenerative practices on their homelands, including developing native seaweed farming, investing in municipal waste management, and electrifying kelp-farming boats.
Springfield Community Gardens 2040 Collaborative Farming Forward
Recipient: Springfield Community Gardens
State: Missouri
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $500,000
Project Description: Springfield Community Gardens intended to mitigate climate and health risks by educating and empowering underserved urban and rural Greene County communities through sustainable, organic food production. The project aimed to expand a paid internship program that Springfield Community Gardens offers to community members.
The Resilient Glades Tree Campaign
Recipient: County of Palm Beach
State: Florida
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program
Grant Amount: $1 million
Project Description: The Resilient Glades Tree Campaign aimed to plant trees across public parks to increase shade, access to fresh food, and tree canopy coverage in Palm Beach, Florida. This included planting fruit-bearing trees as well as two urban orchards to boost community food resilience.
Transforming Communities from the Ground Up through Student Led Action
Recipient: Grades of Green
State: California
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $500,000
Project Description: Grades of Green intended to help Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) divert 75 percent of its organic waste from landfill and donate 20 percent of its leftover food. The project was already providing environmental and food education programs for students, had installed edible and pollinator gardens in the Inglewood community, and planned to improve access to green space in the district.
Uplifting the Wai’anae Community for Resilience and Vibrance
Recipient: Pacific International Center for High Technology Research
State: Hawaii
Grant Program: Community Change Grant Program
Grant Amount: $13.8 million
Project Description: The Uplifting Wai’anae project planned to install a microgrid of renewable energy at Pu’uhonua o Wai’anae Farm Village and to create job training and employment opportunities for residents. Using the microgrid, the project and its partners planned to build a containerized farm for sustainable production of native and food plant species that mitigate wildfire risk and storm impacts, while increasing food security.
Vallejo Food Rescue Project
Recipient: Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
State: California
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $155,000
Project Description: The Vallejo Food Rescue Project would have diverted edible food from landfills to the food bank, improving access to food for low-income individuals while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, the food bank was creating a toolkit with educational and promotional materials to support a replicable and collaborative local food rescue operation.
Wildfire Preparedness and Resiliency in Farmworker Communities
Recipient: Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.
State: Washington
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $500,000
Project Description: Farmworker Justice was helping improve wildfire emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency among farmworkers in Washington State. The project was creating a toolkit of resources, as well as SMS and text messaging systems, for more than 15,000 workers. The aim of the project was to create a model that could be scaled nationally.
Youth Development Project to Tackle Extreme Heat and Food Insecurity in Underserved Communities
Recipient: Dream in Green, Inc.
State: Florida
Grant Program: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program
Grant Amount: $150,000
Project Description: Dream in Green planned to educate and provide resources to underserved communities in Miami-Dade County experiencing extreme heat and food insecurity due to climate change. The project was also intended to help young people manage natural resources and learn about sustainable agricultural practices.
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These programs also highlight the critical role of renewable technologies in climate resilience. For example, the Eastern Coachella Valley project aligns with emerging innovations in containerized solar generators—self-contained, mobile power systems that can bring clean energy to off-grid agricultural or emergency operations. These systems, such as those detailed here, could have enhanced many of the canceled initiatives by ensuring power reliability in remote or disaster-prone areas.
Climate justice isn’t just an environmental issue—it’s an economic and public health imperative. Disinvesting in communities trying to adapt leaves them more vulnerable and dependent. We should be scaling these solutions, not discarding them.