The rising grocery prices for Houstonians, including items like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and eggs, are increasingly difficult to understand.
President Trump’s sweeping tariff policies, including levies of up to 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada, nations that supply 69% and 51% of U.S. vegetable and fresh fruit imports, respectively, are driving up the cost of food and farm inputs nationwide.
Black farmers are bearing the brunt of this pressure, and they were already fighting from behind. Over the past century, the number of Black-run farms in the U.S. dropped 96%, from 14% of all farmers to less than 2% today, largely due to documented discrimination by the USDA in loan approvals, land access, and program eligibility.
“You can go to the grocery store and purchase the tomato. But it includes gas, transportation, and various wage costs. You pretty much eliminate that on a local sense, which lowers your bill by shortening the supply chain.”
Shaka Von Thomas, founder of the Houston Board of Food Security
Black farmers have lost an estimated 16 million acres over that period, with the land loss valued at more than $326 billion. In March 2026, the Trump administration canceled a $300 million USDA program designed to help underserved farmers access land, capital, and markets, wiping out one of the few federal tools built to close that gap.
Wayne Swanson Jr., known as Farmer Wayne, an owner-operator who raises grass-fed beef, pastured pork, lamb, and eggs across operations in Georgia and Mississippi, has practiced regenerative farming for more than a decade.
“If you continue to go into the grocery store for one or two meals at a time, you will continue to be at their mercy,” he said. “It is no longer about convenience. It’s about strategy.”
And when shoppers make that shift, he said, they get something no grocery store shelf can match.
“You’re getting a fresher, more loved-on product than anything a grocery store can supply. But be patient and keep buying from your Houston area farms.”
He urged consumers to treat food shopping like a business decision, sitting down for even 15 minutes to map out weekly meal needs, then finding a local farmer within an hour of Houston’s city center who can fill that order.
Shaka Von Thomas, founder of the Houston Board of Food Security, said the gap between federal policy and kitchen tables is the central challenge of his work. He grew up exposed to diverse food cultures through a military upbringing, and that experience drew him into agriculture.
“Everybody pretty much got along when it came to food,” he said. “I always found myself in some part of agriculture.”
Von Thomas said the average Houston family of four is now spending between $400 and $600 a week on groceries. When consumers bypass the grocery store supply chain and buy directly from local farmers, they cut out transportation, warehousing, and retail markup.
“You can go to the grocery store and purchase the tomato,” he said, “but it has the input of gas, transportation, and different wage costs. You pretty much eliminate that on a local sense, which lowers your bill by shortening the supply chain.”
He also pointed to the Texas Double Up Food Bucks program, which doubles SNAP produce spending up to $60 per visit at participating Houston farmers markets, as an underused resource most residents do not know exists.
Della D. Holden, a USDA-certified farmer and entrepreneur widely known as Farmer D, operates a regenerative farm on her family’s ancestral land in the Sunnyside/South Park area of South Houston. As founder and CEO of Socialite Riding Network Inc., a nonprofit built around sustainable community development through regenerative agriculture and responsible land stewardship, Holden started farming in 2021 when her uncle’s horses needed tending. What began as helping the family turned into a full operation.
“Once I got it all cleared out and I saw some ideas for the garden,” she said, “I started meeting people that influenced me and guided me down that path of actually growing food. And now I am a full-fledged farmer, USDA, the whole nine yards.”
Holden said larger farms reliant on commercial fertilizers and equipment are feeling tariff-driven cost increases most acutely. The result is land loss, farmland being sold and replaced by condominiums and warehouses.
“You don’t have to have land to grow food,” she said. “You can do it out of buckets. You can do hydroponic systems. There are so many ways to grow food in a natural way.”
She invites Houstonians to come to her farm, get hands-on, take seeds home, and pass the knowledge to the next generation. The most powerful shift a Black consumer can make is also the simplest. “Buy.”
“Buy something from a Black farmer. And then be patient,” Holden said. “Because it takes a process to get everything up and running.”
How to fight back with your dollar
Shop Swanson Family Farm: Grass-fed beef, pastured pork, lamb, and eggs. Online orders at swansonfamilyfarmllc.com.
Visit the Socialite Riding Network: Farmer D’s regenerative farm near Hobby Airport offers hands-on education, seeds, and community farming experiences. Connect with Houston Board of Food Security: Find local Black farmers, farmers market listings, and food security resources at htxfoods.org.
Use Texas Double Up Food Bucks: SNAP recipients can double their produce budget — up to $60 per visit, at participating Houston farmers markets and grocery stores. Visit doubleuptexas.org.
