Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2022 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it has signed a cooperative agreement with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA). Through LFPA, the tribe seeks to purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers.
“USDA is excited to partner with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 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, the tribe will establish the Aandanjigewin Local Foods Purchasing Agreement program that will purchase food products directly from up to 100 local food producers and harvesters. The purchased food will then be shared and distributed in food boxes to 500 Fond du Lac households. Through these efforts, the Fond du Lac Band aims to reduce food insecurity, create economic opportunity, revitalize traditional foodways, advocate for tribal sovereignty, expand understanding of treaty rights within the ceded territories, and foster a decolonized local food system within the Fond du Lac community.
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.
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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