Activism & Policy

Much happened for CT NOFA advocacy on the state level last week, including a strategy session for the Connecticut Environmental Rights Amendment, the annual meeting of the Working Lands Alliance with the Connecticut Commissioner of Agriculture, and a special session of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Earlier this year, CT NOFA faced a critical funding crossroads. Well into our budgeted programming for the year, we faced sudden and substantial cuts to federally funded programming that constituted the majority of our work for 2025. But then, something moving happened.

Two federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to stop blocking the funding of SNAP using emergency funds. The Trump administration has agreed to partially fund SNAP benefits. It is not clear how much SNAP beneficiaries will receive or how long it will take to load the partial benefits onto their EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) cards.

If the Federal government shutdown continues, on November 1 the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will halt for the 10% of Connecticut residents who rely on it. SNAP serves about 360,000 people in our state.

The seven Northeast Organic Farming Association chapters (CT-NOFA, NOFA-MA, NOFA-NH, NOFA-NJ, NOFA-NY, NOFA-RI and NOFA-VT), and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) are documenting the impacts of the current government shutdown, and the expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, on farmers and farm workers in our region.

Who is in charge here? The human beings or the machines and the corporations that profit from them? Are we going to dig up every crumb of coal and uranium to feed the AI beast? Are we going to pollute the air we breathe? Destroy the climate that allows us and all of nature to thrive? Give away all our water? And then what?