Last summer, the Nevada Legislature and Governor Lombardo approved and signed into law an $800,000 appropriation for the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA). This money was meant to replace federal funds for Home Feeds Nevada, which were rescinded last March. However, Churchill County farmers report that they have not heard from the NDA about when purchase orders for the program will resume.
Home Feeds Nevada, like similar farm-to-food-bank programs in other states, is usually funded through a block grant from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA). In 2025, LFPA would have funded about $4 million in purchase orders for Nevada’s farmers and $500M nationwide.
HFN purchases fruit, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, and meat from Nevada farmers. They do so by issuing declining purchase orders, in which they arrange for future delivery of unspecified amounts of food from a vendor based on that vendor’s credible prediction of the quantities and timing of their various crop harvests. These vendors arrange transportation to Nevada’s two major food bank hubs: Food Bank of Northern Nevada (FBNN), located just off USA Parkway in Sparks, and Three Square in Las Vegas. The purchase orders are then paid in chunks as each is fulfilled and confirmed by the food banks.
After receiving Home Feeds Nevada deliveries, FBNN and Three Square apportion and ship locally farmed food, along with donations and food bank-purchased food staples such as potatoes and beans, and USDA commodities to hundreds of partner pantries across Nevada.
Nevada state senators Fabian Doñate and Edgar Flores, both Democrats from Las Vegas, co-sponsored the bill. They, along with the Legislative Counsel Bureau, drafted Senate Bill 233, which would have used $800,000 to create and fund the state Task Force on Farm Labor. However, on or about March 10th, 2025, after the start of Nevada’s legislative session, the USDA rescinded funding for this program and a similar farm-to-school program, Local Food for Schools. As such, the senators worked quickly, with help from Fallon-based Small Business Development Corporation business coach Kelli Kelly, to author an amendment to SB 233. The amendment deleted the language that created the task force and shifted the $800k to Home Feeds Nevada.
Senator Doñate traveled to Churchill County during the legislative session to meet with the owner/operators of Alanis Family Farms, a Home Feeds Nevada vendor, in advance of the bill’s passage. Cuco Alanis, whose family grows produce at Lattin Farms through an agreement with the Lattin family, said, “My dad did a lot of work to get that [bill] done”, referring to the many conversations his father, Adrian Alanis, had with officials and media. A Reno Univision news crew and other reporters visited Churchill Farms as word spread about the distress caused to Nevada farmers by sudden federal budget cuts, highlighting the emergency need for alternative sales channels for farmers, such as the remedy proposed by SB 233.
Last June 10th, Governor Lombardo signed Senate Bill 233 into law. According to language in the bill, the statute created by the bill became “effective on July 1st, 2025,” and that $800,000 was to be deposited from the State General Fund into the Nutritious Food Purchase Account. However, local farmers, Cuco and Adrian Alanis, and Ron Peterson, owner of Pickin’ and Grinnin’ farm stand, all experienced vendors to the HFN program, report that not only have they not received any money or purchase orders from the state, but that they’ve had no communication with their usual NV Dept. of Agriculture contacts. Peterson acknowledged that their previous purchasing agent is now working in a different role.
The Fallon Post received a statement from Patricia Hoppe, Nevada Department of Agriculture Division of Food and Nutrition Administrator, in response to questions about when the NDA would resume Home Feeds Nevada operations and orders:
“…. the NDA has not been able to utilize these funds to purchase food for the Home Feeds Nevada program as funds were not issued to the Department until Sept. 30, 2025……
[Previous] declining purchase orders expired on June 30, 2025. This new spending plan included the development of new declining purchase orders…. A new spending plan has not been finalized, and funds have not been spent…
It is still the intention of the NDA to purchase food through the Home Feeds Nevada program, but this will depend upon the available storage and needs of food bank partners.”
Ms. Hoppe stated that uncertainty about storage capacity relates to evolving plans to mitigate Nevada’s expected food insecurity needs. Due to the stoppage of funds for SNAP benefits or federal worker salaries during the government shutdown, food banks will double food deliveries as early as next week. The SNAP cutoff was announced on October 23rd.
The Alanises and Peterson understand the Ag Department’s situation and the fact that Home Feeds Nevada didn’t receive funds until six weeks ago. They agree with Ms. Hoppe’s statement in that these large purchase orders must be agreed upon well in advance of planting. And for that reason, they are especially concerned about the lack of communication, which Cuco Alanis described as unusual in his experience. Peterson said, “It’s important that we have a full understanding that we, the farmers-- along with our Home Feeds Nevada partners-- are aware that we need at least ninety days…to establish a planting schedule.”
He continued, “once we are aware monies are available to farms…. we need to know [specifics] now because we have to look at seed prices, condition of the soil to prepare and…. the dollar amount which would be available to a given farm.”
The Alanis and Lattin families still have an abundance of great fall produce at the Lattin Farms store at 1955 McLean Rd. in Fallon. People can load up on spaghetti squash, butternut squash, garlic, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, and of course, the Lattin’s world-famous raspberry jam.
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