Headline : Senate Bill Offers a Pathway to Sustain Local Food Purchasing Program

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Supporting the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities.

On March 19, Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, led the introduction of the EAT Local Foods Act of 2024 alongside twelve co-sponsors and with 184 endorsements from organizations, farms, and businesses from across the country. The bill seeks to sustain the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program, which launched in 2021 as one of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) initiatives to transform the food system and build resilient regional supply chains.

LFPA strategically leverages $900 million in funding for domestic food purchases to invest in local food systems and partnerships, address food insecurity, and create economic opportunities for local and underserved producers. Since LFPA is structured as cooperative agreements with states, Tribal governments, and territories, it centers local voices and enables states to be dynamic and responsive to the unique needs of their rural and urban communities. LFPA is unique from other federal food purchasing programs because food purchases are often paired with scale-appropriate technical assistance from community partners that generate benefits beyond increased farm revenue. Already, this model has proven incredibly popular: USDA has entered into agreements with 81 cooperators, including all 50 states, 28 Tribal nations, and 3 territories.

NSAC members across the nation have been active in program development, implementation, and monitoring. Last year, the Wallace Center, an NSAC member, released a report highlighting the results of initial research into LFPA that identified effective models, partner best practices, and preliminary success stories. 

Read more from the original article on here at sustainableagriculture.net.

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