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.

Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) proposes a three-year project to purchase and distribute $4,160,086.70 of Iowa grown & produced foods to underserved communities. The goal is to build a sustainable program to increase access to local food and improve supply chain resiliency by building partnerships with local producers, socially disadvantaged farmers, and underserved communities. 

The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) will take a dual approach to the Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) project.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services and University of Illinois Extension entered into the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement to create a meaningful and sustainable model to bridge underserved farmers and ranchers with food insecure communities. This cooperative agreement is an opportunity to unite Illinoisans invested in building a resilient and diverse food system and a network of food system support.