Other Ag News:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net 

Tel. 347.563.6408

Washington, DC, March 21, 2024, Tuesday, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Laphonza R. Butler (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Angus King Jr. (D-ME), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the Expanding Access to Local Foods Act of 2024 (EAT Local Foods Act) in the Senate (S. 3982). The EAT Local Foods Act would create a permanent program to sustain the efforts of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (USDA’s LFPA) Program. The program would empower States and Tribal Nations to strengthen regional food supply chains by providing funding to purchase and distribute locally grown and produced foods to vulnerable communities and provide tailored technical assistance to help growers scale production. 

“National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) members across the country have shared how USDA LFPA funding has been transformative in their communities, allowing for targeted resources for underserved producers to help them reach new markets and catalyze business growth. NSAC applauds Senators Reed and Brown for recognizing the impact of these investments and identifying a pathway to sustain them past a temporary program,” said Hannah Quigley, NSAC Policy Specialist in response to the bill’s introduction. 

“LFPA funding has demonstrated how USDA food purchases have the potential to go beyond providing nutritious foods in communities. When states and community partners purchase foods directly, these purchases are often paired with technical assistance that provides benefits beyond increased farm revenue,” Quigley added. 

The EAT Local Foods Act would direct USDA to enter into cooperative agreements with States, Tribes, and territories through a non-competitive application process to support purchases of food from local small, beginning, and underserved producers to distribute to community organizations in their locality. In addition to direct food purchases, the bill includes technical assistance initiatives to support growers in food safety planning, training, and upgrades required for institutional markets. Funding can be subawarded to a variety of organizations, such as non-profits or food hubs, to implement program activities and necessary partnerships. Funding for the regions is formula-based with a set-aside for Tribal nations before funding is determined for other regions. 

“The LFPA program in Rhode Island has been a truly transformative initiative. By supporting new market opportunities for dozens of local food businesses of all shapes and sizes and bringing healthy food to tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders via the heroic work of food access agencies across the state, this program has been a win-win-win all around. Farm Fresh RI is proud to partner with organizations like the Southside Community Land Trust, the African Alliance of RI, the Commercial Fisheries Center of RI and the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, to ensure that the LFPA gets resources to those most in need. It is absolutely vital that this initiative continues into the future, and we appreciate Senator Reed’s leadership sustaining this effort through the EAT Local Foods Act,” commented Jesse Rye, Executive Director for Farm Fresh Rhode Island, an NSAC Member.

“The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program’s (LFPA) funding of Ohio CAN (Community, Agriculture, Nutrition) has provided a remarkably diverse group of farmers across Ohio with transformative access to wholesale markets. That access is incredibly important for producers trying to scale up and develop more sustainable businesses. We are thankful for Senator Brown’s leadership in building resilient food systems,” commented Milo Petruziello, Policy Director for Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, an NSAC Member. 

“This commitment is unprecedented; this is the first time we have ever had a two year window to commit to growers. It’s the first time that we have been able to sit down with a farmer and talk about the two year production window. We structure purchase orders and pre-pay on them which offers basically a 0% interest loan to the grower, whereas others are doing spot buying like they would any other commodity which doesn’t help the producer plan or support them to build long term strength or capacity,” said Haile Johnston, Co-Founder of The Common Market, a Regional Food Hub and NSAC member.

The EAT Local Foods Act is endorsed by 184 organizations, farms, and businesses nationwide.

More details can be found in the bill summary, outline, and full text. 

USDA launched the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) in 2021 to promote food and agricultural supply chain resiliency with a sizable investment of $900 million to purchase food from local, regional, and underserved producers. Since the program launched, this funding has reached States nationwide, in addition to twenty-eight Tribal nations and three territories. 

Since the program is structured as a cooperative agreement, States have had flexibility to design programs that build on existing investments, meet the unique needs of hard-to-reach communities, and foster collaboration. Last year, The Wallace Center at Winrock International, an NSAC member, released a report highlighting the results of research that evaluates the preliminary impact of USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program in communities nationwide. 

The report provides an overview of the unique nature of the program, common models implemented in states, and highlights how LFPA is paving the way for smaller farmers to access institutional markets. New, larger contracts have incentivized farmers to incorporate additional food safety, processing, and packaging practices to prepare operations for wholesale markets. Participating organizations and local food stakeholders recognize the growth of farmers’ wholesale readiness and are leveraging LFPA funding to build farmer capacity, scale regional value chains, and secure other complimentary institutional contracts, such as schools and universities.

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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more and get involved at: https://sustainableagriculture.net

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