Weeks after a family farm in Matteson lost its entire flock of nearly 3,000 chickens to bird flu, the owners learned their federal funding to remodel a pole barn is in limbo.
Kakadoodle farm owners MariKate and Marty Thomas were informed in October they would receive a $220,000 grant, which they planned to use to remodel their pole barn into a distribution center where they aggregate products from other farms and package them for delivery to homes, Marty Thomas said.
The grant, part of the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, was just awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Thomas said.
“We were really hoping, after the bird flu happened and we lost all that revenue, we were like, ‘OK, but at least we’re going to have this revenue coming in, and then that’s not going to happen either,’” Thomas said.
The couple spent $80,000 to pour concrete and set up temperature control for the barn, banking on reimbursement from the federal grant, Thomas said.
“We’ve done the very bare minimum that we needed to do with that barn, and it’s fine where it’s at. It’s operational, it’s just like halfway completed,” Thomas said.
The couple learned the grant was in limbo after the USDA ceased reimbursements for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program and Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program after President Donald Trump’s administration cut funding for the programs, the Illinois Department of Agriculture announced in a news release in early March.
“I’m hopeful that these freezes are going to be lifted,” Thomas said. “These are good programs. Trump has supported programs like this in his last administration. I know this one’s like different, but I don’t know, I have no choice but to be hopeful about it.”
Without the federal funds, Thomas said the couple won’t be able to complete renovations.
“We just got a blanket statement, like we just learned with everybody else, that the RFSI and the LFPA were both suspended,” Thomas said.
The state Department of Agriculture was in the process of selecting grantees for the RFSI program, which would have provided $6.4 million in grant funding to entities, according to the release.
Gov. JB Pritzker called cuts to the programs a “slap in the face” to Illinois farmers.
“The Trump Administration’s refusal to release grant funds doesn’t just hurt farmers in the program, it devastates our most vulnerable, food-insecure communities relying on meat, fresh produce and other nutritious donations,” the governor said in the release.
This week, the state’s Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II addressed the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee in Springfield to discuss the impact of federal funding cuts and tariffs on Illinois farmers, according to a news release.
“These are federal funds that were passed by Congress, a coequal branch of government, signed into law, and promised to Illinois farmers,” Costello said. “They have been cut with no explanation or timeline, and farmers are left to deal with the consequences.”
The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program was established to strengthen the middle of the food supply chain by expanding the capacity for locally and regionally produced foods, providing better market opportunities and new revenue streams for small and mid-sized agricultural producers, the state agriculture department said.
The program requires farmers to make upfront investments in input costs, with the promise of grant dollars to reimburse them, the state agriculture department said. However, without federal funding the program is unable to operate, they said.
While the couple is disappointed, Thomas said he believes their business can survive without government assistance.
“There’s a silver lining to this freeze for us, because now we’re laser focused as a business on exactly where we need to be, and that’s getting food directly to consumers,” he said. “2025 is going to be really hard. We’re going to need to raise or borrow a significant amount of money to get through 2025 if the funding freezes continue. However, I’m like, more confident than ever in Kakadoodle.”
Though losing their flock of 3,000 hens to bird flu was a significant hit for the farm, which produced close to 24,000 eggs each week, Thomas said the couple is choosing to remain optimistic and has received an outpouring of support from the community and a GoFundMe, which raised more than $50,000 as of Friday.
Although the farm is under a 150-day quarantine, preventing them from growing produce or raising new hens until June, Thomas said they continue to operate their online marketplace.
Without access to federal funds, the farmers will have the opportunity to refine their business model and focus on generating profit independently, Thomas said.
Come 2026, he believes Kakadoodle will be able to operate without any government aid.
“I’m really excited about that,” he said. “We’ve always been mindful of taking government assistance, although grateful of it. There’s this balance, but I was always careful not to build our business around government funds for programs.”
The farmers started Kakadoodle in 2020 as an online marketplace to deliver local food to people’s home, inspired by Marty’s defeat of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.
MariKate Thomas previously told the Southtown that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is linked to glyphosate exposure, a common chemical in conventional farming. The Cleveland Clinic says some studies suggest agricultural workers exposed to high pesticide levels may face a slightly higher risk of the cancer, though the risk from low-level or occasional exposure remains uncertain.
Their farm raises chemical-free and antibiotic-free chickens, and their hens spend time in pastures, according to Kakadoodle’s website.
Despite the hardships, Thomas said he is grateful for the community’s support, which has proven how much people care about their farm and products.
“Going through this bird flu and this funding freeze and everything, like the support from our community and customers has been unreal, like bringing us to tears,” he said. “It’s more than a food delivery service for them, they are so passionate about Kakadoodle.”
