The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) is partnering with the three Feeding America affiliated food banks that together service all 82 counties in the state of Mississippi. MDAC has subcontracted with each of the Food Banks to procure locally produced food, including foods purchased from socially disadvantaged farmers, and distribute the food to identified underserved communities through their networks of existing and new agency partners created as a result of the project.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) plans to use Local Food Purchase Agreement (LFPA) and LFPA Plus funds to support a program that allows communities to determine for themselves how local food can be procured and distributed to underserved individuals. The addition of LFPA Plus funding extends the initial proposed reach and timeline for the program, significantly increasing the economic investment for the state and bolstering the ability to build relationships and capacity among community members and the agency.

This summary accounts for how additional estimated LFPA Plus funding would bring all Michigan grant subagencies to full funding and increase funds used for additional food purchases.

MDAR seeks to continue the purchase and distribution of locally grown, produced, and processed food from socially disadvantaged farmers, producers, and businesses to address injustices inherent in the current food system. Currently, the MDAR LFPA program has executed contracts with Massachusetts organizations focused on the purchase and distribution of local goods and has systems in place to identify and partner with socially disadvantaged farmers to maximize the amount of goods purchased from these producers.

Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) will use LFPA-Plus funds to expand work begun under the first round of this Cooperative Agreement. MDA will contract with the Maryland Food Bank and the Capital Area Food Bank to strengthen the state’s food system resiliency. MDA will continue to support local and socially disadvantaged farmers through building their economic opportunities. MDA will also continue to broaden partnerships with seafood companies, watermen, farmers, and food distributors to provide food to those in need in the State.

Maine Food for Maine People is a Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) project that will expand marketing opportunities for historically marginalized agricultural producers and aggregators. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) will collaborate with one subrecipient, Good Shepherd Food Bank (GSFB), and other partners on the expansion of Maine’s LFPA program.

Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) will partner with Feeding Louisiana, five Feeding America member food banks, non-profit organizations, and community members to support Louisiana producers, with a focus on those who are socially disadvantaged. Through its partner Feeding Louisiana, LDAF will purchase millions of pounds of food including fresh produce, meats, seafood, and rice from local growers, targeting farmers, ranchers, and fishers who are from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) will administer the grant program to oversee the purchase of domestic, local foods, while prioritizing procurements from socially disadvantaged producers. KDA will continue utilizing their partnership with Feeding Kentucky, Inc. to make direct procurements from local producers, preferencing the socially disadvantaged and paying retail prices for their highest quality foods. Foods will be distributed throughout the Commonwealth as exciting, supplemental items to their existing distributions.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture proposes a three-year project to purchase and distribute $4,523,080.28 worth of locally grown and processed foods to underserved communities and families across Kansas. Kansans in both rural and urban communities are greatly impacted by increasing inflation of food prices and limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. According to data published in Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study, there are over 281,000 Kansans who are food insecure. This equates to 9.7% of the Kansas population.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing a rule to establish the free and restricted percentages of tart cherries that handlers may purchase from, or handle on behalf of, growers during the 2023-24 crop year. The proposed rule would apply to tart cherries grown in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.