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. This food will then be provided to the five Louisiana food banks which will distribute it to Louisiana residents experiencing food insecurity in underserved communities. In addition to sharing this Louisiana-grown food with hundreds of existing partners working in underserved communities, the food banks will work to establish new partnerships in communities where need is high and resources are limited, maximizing the reach and impact of these items.
Objectives for the project include: Investing $10.6 million or greater in underserved Louisiana producers by purchasing an estimated 4.5 million pounds of food such as produce, rice, meat, and seafood over the extended three-year grant period; distributing that food across Louisiana’s 64 parishes and impacting approximately 200,000 people experiencing food insecurity; conducting careful tracking and evaluation of our efforts to ensure program goals are attained and best practices and lessons learned are captured and able to be shared; and providing support to socially disadvantaged farmers by providing technical assistance to promote their long-term sustainability. We hope to create a more robust Louisiana food system and a healthier community.