Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2022 — Today, during a visit to the Harvesters Community Food Bank in Lawrence, Kansas, U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt announced USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has signed a cooperative agreement with Kansas under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA). Through LFPA, Kansas Department of Agriculture seeks to purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers. Under Secretary Moffitt was joined by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam and Harvesters Community Food Bank president and CEO Steven Davis.
“USDA is excited to partner with Kansas to promote economic opportunities for farmers and producers and to increase access to locally sourced, fresh, healthy, and nutritious food in underserved communities,” said Under Secretary Moffitt. “The Local Food Purchase Cooperative Agreement Program will improve food and agricultural supply-chain resiliency and increase local food consumption around the country.”
The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) will purchase and distribute $2.5 million worth of Kansas grown and processed foods to food insecure Kansans in underserved rural and urban communities across the state impacted by increasing inflation and limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. KDA will partner with agriculture stakeholder groups to identify local, regional, and underserved farmers and ranchers and establish a tiered purchasing standard that gives preference to underserved farmers to expand their businesses.
“With this grant, we will be able to implement an exciting new program that will expand market opportunities for underserved local food growers and producers while also providing local food to underserved communities and families across Kansas,” said Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam. “This partnership with local producers and with the state’s food bank distribution network will benefit Kansans throughout the food supply chain.”
The LFPA program is authorized by the American Rescue Plan to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency. Through this program, USDA will award up to $400 million through non-competitive cooperative agreements with state and tribal governments to support local, regional, and underserved producers through the purchase of food produced within the state or within 400 miles of delivery destination.
AMS looks forward to continuing to sign agreements under this innovative program that allows state and tribal governments to procure and distribute local and regional foods and beverages that are healthy, nutritious, and unique to their geographic area.
More information about the program is available on AMS’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program webpage.
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