Owners and operators of food banks and low-income produce distribution sites across the country are reporting smaller selections and lower-quality fruits and vegetables. Many attribute the issue to a growing shortage of farmworkers, which they say is being driven by recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that have disrupted harvests and strained supply chains.
A report published earlier this month by Economic Insights and Research Consulting estimates that the U.S. workforce has lost as many as 1.2 million foreign-born workers since January 2025. The report links the shortage to gaps in farm labor and other key industries, which has slowed harvests and reduced the amount of produce available to food banks.
