Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2023 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has signed a cooperative agreement with Arizona under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA). Through LFPA, the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) seeks to purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers.
“USDA is excited to partner with Arizona to promote economic opportunities for farmers and producers and to increase access to locally sourced, fresh, healthy, and nutritious food in underserved communities,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The Local Food Purchase Cooperative Agreement Program will improve food and agricultural supply-chain resiliency and increase local food consumption around the country.”
With the LFPA funds, DES will implement the Let’s Grow Arizona Local Food Purchase Assistance Program with the collaboration of Arizona Food Bank Network and Pinnacle Prevention. The collaboration intends to engage local producers through direct markets outlets and direct them to participate in the expansion of the Friends of the Farm efforts, which is a farm-to-food bank program offering institutional purchasing and distribution power. The purchased foods will be distributed among low-income individuals within local municipalities.
"We are thrilled with the opportunity to promote the Let’s Grow Arizona Local Food Purchase Assistance Program," said DES Director Angie Rodgers. “We look forward to connecting local farmers and food producers with the Arizona Food Bank Network and Pinnacle Prevention. These partnerships will help underserved communities and families in need, expand the Friends of the Farm efforts and place healthy and nutritious Arizona-grown food on families’ tables, while boosting our local economy.”
USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program provides up to $900 million through non-competitive cooperative agreements to enable state, territory, and tribal governments to support local, regional and underserved producers, and maintain or improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency through the purchase of food produced within the state or within 400 miles of delivery destination. Funding for the program comes from the American Rescue Plan and the Commodity Credit Corporation.
More information about the program is available on AMS’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program webpage.
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