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The farm owners said their concerns centered around Rustic Roots Sanctuary and its founder, Janett Lewis, who is overseeing the grant and set to receive the largest amount of money.

鈥淭his is a money grab,鈥� said Coahoma Orchards founder Dail Chambers. 鈥淪he needs to be shut down.鈥�

Lewis said Tuesday that the three farms dropped out because they lack essential paperwork, such as deeds for farmland or proof of insurance.

鈥淲e went into further inquiry with each of the farms and unfortunately, they did not have the credentials that they said they had,鈥� Lewis said.

The farmers, when they heard Lewis鈥� response, were livid. They said she was lying.

Chambers, the orchard owner, was set to get $35,000 to help plant a raspberry field on a vacant lot in Riverview. She said she dropped out because Lewis misrepresented the project to the public and the County Council, which approved it unanimously last week despite uncertainties surrounding the plan.

Tyrean Lewis, who runs Heru Urban Farming, said he dropped out because he had lost faith in Lewis and the project. Heru was set to receive $202,500, which he hoped would help build a canning kitchen where he could preserve more of his fresh produce.

鈥淚t鈥檚 too many red flags popping up for me,鈥� he said, calling Lewis 鈥渟lick.鈥�

Confluence Farms, the biggest farm of the three, was set to receive $250,000.

鈥淪he鈥檚 been bullying others on the project,鈥� said Confluence partner Gibron Jones. He also said Rustic Roots doesn't have the capacity to run such a big program.

Lewis, whose Rustic Roots is set to receive nearly $2.5 million, said two other organizations are still participating: Odds & Ends Farm and Willowick Farm.

Odds & Ends manager Vincent Lang, set to receive $202,500, didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment. Julianna Campbell, owner of Willowick and set to receive $60,000, threatened to call police on a reporter who visited her farm on Tuesday.

The other farms, Janett Lewis said, didn鈥檛 have necessary deeds or lease agreements to farm on the land they鈥檙e using. They also need proof of insurance and soil sample testing to prove the soil is safe, she said.

She said she plans to reallocate the money to other farms or projects.

鈥淭he county is trusting us with taxpayer money,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 produce a deed and you鈥檙e farming with a handshake agreement, that doesn鈥檛 work within the parameters of this grant.鈥�

Questioning Rustic Roots

But Chambers, the orchard owner, owns the land she plans to farm on, according to property records. Tyrean Lewis said he has permission from the owner of Confluence Farms, where he has some plots. And all the North County farmers test their soil or are willing to, he said.

They want to grow good food in a place where there鈥檚 a lack of it, and where residents suffer the health consequences, he said.

鈥淚 believe in this, but I don鈥檛 believe in the players involved,鈥� he said.

County council members approved legislation creating the program unanimously at an emotional meeting a week ago despite questions about whether the service needed to go out to bid. And details were scarce on how Rustic Roots would use and distribute the money to the other farms.

Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, who introduced the bill, has said the money will go to Rustic Roots in the form of a grant, so it doesn鈥檛 need to go to bid. The farm, she said, has a proven track record of providing fresh fruits and vegetables to the community.

Webb broke down in tears after the vote, and the audience in the council chambers erupted in applause.

In the days following the vote, the dynamic changed. Questions from farmers about delivery logistics and how they would get the money went unaddressed, said Heru鈥檚 Tyrean Lewis. And it wasn鈥檛 clear how Rustic Roots would spend its share.

He questioned Rustic Roots鈥� plans to build an 鈥渁gri-village鈥� for educational farming residencies. The bulk of the money, he said, seemed to center around building on land privately owned by Rustic Roots, such as housing for the village.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 not feeding nobody,鈥� he said.

鈥楽he鈥檚 trying to sabotage鈥�

On Monday, Jones, of Confluence Farms, contacted the Post-Dispatch to say he had decided to withdraw, but he declined to elaborate. Heru and Coahoma farms said the same, but also wouldn鈥檛 say why.

That changed after they heard what Janett Lewis said about their credentials.

鈥淪he鈥檚 trying to sabotage my business,鈥� Chambers said.

Lewis said on Tuesday she was just trying to ensure due diligence on the project, which she believes will make a difference in North County lives.

鈥淲hen we鈥檙e talking about long-term food security, and the importance of these farms and their role in this community, it鈥檚 historic and it鈥檚 beautiful,鈥� she said of the project. 鈥淪o, I鈥檓 just hoping that all the waters won鈥檛 be muddied by anything because the bottom line is this is a transformational bill.鈥�

Webb, at Tuesday鈥檚 council meeting, repeated what Janett Lewis said: Some participants 鈥渋nitially included鈥� in the program were not able to provide documentation to ensure compliance. She said she was working with the farms to 鈥渆nsure due diligence.鈥�

鈥淲e want to make sure this is done right, and if you cannot comply to those standards, you cannot be a part of this project,鈥� Webb said.

Webb added that she had planned last week to wait for a final vote on the program but then called an 鈥渁udible鈥� after hearing 鈥渃ompelling testimony,鈥� during that meeting. She thanked the council for 鈥渢rusting鈥� her to take a final vote then. She said she hoped County Executive Sam Page wouldn鈥檛 veto the bill.

Page spokesman Doug Moore said on Tuesday that Page hasn鈥檛 yet signed it.

鈥淒r. Page is reviewing the legislation and listening to everyone,鈥� Moore said in a statement. 鈥淭he county executive and the council share a commitment to food security in North County.鈥�

Nassim Benchaabane of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.