On Tuesdays, Jo Daviess, Carroll and Stephenson County farmers bring their local meat, dairy, eggs, vegetables, grains and fruit over the rolling hills of northwest Illinois to the Elizabeth community center, where it’s divided among 26 food pantries and distribution partners for delivery on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Cindy Tegtmeyer is one of two “farm to food pantry coordinators” for the local food hub Jo Daviess Local Foods–known locally as JDLF. She works under the federal Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, administered by the state of Illinois as IL-EATS.

Through LFPA, about 90,000 pounds of local food have now helped feed Tegtmeyer’s northwest Illinois neighbors.

The coordinators do logistics throughout the week as pantries’ wish lists get matched to reality. “Do you have grains?” Tegtmeyer asked, mimicking a conversation she might have with a pantry organizer. “Probably not. Might be flour. Maybe we’ll have popcorn. Apples might be done, but we’re not sure.”

A self-described “Jill of all trades,” Tegtmeyer quit a corporate job during the pandemic to make a living doing work she cares about. She works with JDLF and as a yoga instructor. She’s also a professional actor and active in city government in her home community of Galena, Ill.

Her passion for local food systems started as a brainstorm during the shut-down. “I was walking this very levee in April of 2020, when everything was falling apart,” she said. “I started thinking about how it would be great if people in the local area could actually eat local foods from our local farms.” She met JDLF founder Erin Keyser, started volunteering and eventually began working with Keyser.

With federal LFPA funding through IL-EATS, the local food hub JDLF has been able to expand its services to neighboring Carroll and Stephenson counties, serving up to 2,500 families monthly through 26 food distributors.

“I feel like it’s a crime to be in these food pantries, in the middle of farm fields, and there’s just boxed mac ‘n’ cheese and cereal on the shelves,” Tegtmeyer said. “We can actually grow things here. There’s no reason for anyone to be hungry in this country.”

By purchasing food for distribution, LFPA has invested about half a million dollars to 20 local producers who receive standard, fair-market value for their produce and protein.

In the face of 2025’s federal funding tumult, however, those producers can’t count on promised income that drove investment. “One of our producers has bought seed, signed contracts, broke new ground and even bought a new tractor,” Tegtmeyer said. Another producer just purchased chickens to fulfill a contract through LFPA. Others expanded and hired employees.

JDLF learned in January that LFPA funding would be on the chopping block, but they received enough money to pay producers for January and February. That ended in March. The “well-oiled” weekly machine of food collection and distribution ground to a halt.

“Our food pantry is dry goods only,” food pantry coordinator Lucy, of Pearl City, told JDLF. “It was a blessing to receive fresh products for our people.”

With distribution on hold, Tegtmeyer testified before a state legislative committee that people couldn’t wait for promised funding. “We have people who need to eat today, in your state,” she said. “The stop-and-go doesn’t work for our farmers, and it doesn’t work for the people who need to eat that food.”

Tegtmeyer recalls a drop-off at Jo Daviess County Housing Authority at which a customer approached to thank her. “Your meat saved me last month,” she said. “There were a couple weeks when I didn’t have any food. Your food saved me.”

About a week later, Illinois announced that enough federal funding remained to pay producers through the end of June. It’s a short-term victory for lead agencies like JDLF, which has a grant contract through the end of the calendar year.

“This is really supporting the whole local food system, who is producing the food, and allowing that local food system to grow so that it could be sustainable,” Tegtmeyer said. “These programs are speeding it up just enough to really let them solidify. These are independent farmers, and they have to have a way to compete.”

In northwest Illinois, June 30 is an arbitrary stop date out of sync with the growing season. “We’ll have a little asparagus, a little bit of lettuce, but June 30 is really when we get going as far as all the really great produce,” Tegtmeyer said.

In the meantime, JDLF has converted into a nonprofit, in order to raise money locally to solidify and grow local food systems. “These programs allow farmers to literally feed our neighbors, and make a living for our families,” Tegtmeyer said. “It’s so basic and obvious and good.”

The American Rescue Plan Act was a stimulus package passed by the 117th U.S. Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was signed into law in March of 2021 by President Biden to aid in the country’s economic recovery.