Maine LFPA Plus Executive Summary

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. GSFB will work closely with eight existing and new partners to expand current efforts to purchase vegetables, fruit, and other produce, dairy, and meat from local farmers with an emphasis on developing and expanding relationships with socially disadvantaged producers. Food will be distributed through established and emerging pathways to feed underserved Maine communities. These pathways include existing Eligible Recipient Agencies of the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP ERA) and tribal pantry networks, as well as innovative, culturally responsive distribution models rooted in community 2 demand. We expect the project to result in local foods valued at close to $1.3 million being delivered to food-insecure Maine people.