Alongside fellow food security advocates, we attended a press conference at CT Foodshare, where Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy addressed the sudden termination of two vital USDA programs: the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Local Food For Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFSP).
These critical programs allowed food banks and schools to source food from local small farmers, strengthening both community food access and local agriculture.
To bolster local food supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration launched this pair of USDA programs. In 2021, leveraging American Rescue Plan funding, the USDA distributed $1 billion in grants to states, enabling school districts, food banks, and distribution hubs nationwide to purchase produce, meat, dairy, and other minimally processed foods directly from over 8,000 local farmers. These programs essentially provided small, diversified farms with direct market access to community institutions.
The LFPA and LFSP initiatives not only fortified regional supply chains and fostered crucial stakeholder partnerships, but also improved the health and well-being of all students and food insecure families. Furthermore, they injected vital financial capital into small farming enterprises.
This nationwide investment of hundreds of millions of dollars yielded significant positive outcomes for community health and local food economies, reflecting a strategically sound policy approach. Recognizing the programs’ success, President Biden allocated $1.1 billion in late 2024 to extend their reach and continue to build resiliency within local food systems. Farmers, school food service directors, and food banks, having established strong connections with food hubs, eagerly anticipated this continuation, with farmers already having invested in seeds and planting.
State agencies nationwide, including those in Connecticut, received notification on March 7, that the $1.1 billion second funding round for the LFPA and LFSP programs had been terminated due to a shift in priorities and cost-saving efforts, diverging from the previous administration’s objectives.
“Let’s be clear,” said Renee Giroux, farmer and founder of the Northwest Connecticut Food Hub, who spoke on behalf of small Connecticut farmers at the press conference, “This isn’t just about numbers. It’s about real people, real farms, and real families. At a time when food insecurity is rising and local farms are struggling to survive, we should be strengthening programs like LFPA and LFSP, not cutting them. Local food production and direct distribution to the local community is good for our health, economy and environment.”
The cancellation’s repercussions for Connecticut are significant: $9.3 million that would have continued to strengthen local agriculture, student resources, and food security initiatives, will no longer be available.
Let’s break down the numbers:
The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) aimed to connect Connecticut farms directly with food pantries. From 2023 to 2025, the CT Department of Agriculture received $6.7 million from the USDA for this initiative, and expected an additional $3.7 million.
CT Foodshare, a key partner, received $3 million initially and was slated to receive an additional $1 million before the program’s cancellation. This funding enabled them to supply fresh produce from local farms to pantries statewide.
“The loss of this funding is immense,” a spokesperson for Connecticut Foodshare said, “and it has a direct impact on both the people we serve as well as our local farm partners. The program would have enabled us to provide millions of fresh, Connecticut-grown meals to the one in eight Connecticut residents (including one in six children) experiencing food insecurity.”
The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFSP), designed to bring local farm products to schools, provided the Connecticut Department of Education with $1.873 million from the USDA between 2022 and 2025. Prior to its cancellation, an additional $5.6 million was planned. This second round of funding included $4.6 million for K-12 schools and $1 million for early childhood education centers.
Ashley Carl, Director of Food and Nutrition Services in Plainville states, “The funding from LFSP has been essential in allowing us to provide students with locally sourced foods. Without this support, maintaining the diverse range of local offerings on our limited budget would be an enormous challenge.”
We have to ask ourselves, what could possibly be a higher priority than ensuring students and those facing food insecurity have access to nutritious food, while simultaneously supporting the economic health of Connecticut’s small farms?
As local leaders, deeply invested in a just, regenerative and resilient food system, we ask for your help. Contact your federal representatives immediately. Urge them to demand that the USDA reinstate funding for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) and the Local Food for Schools Program (LFSP).
Contact your district’s delegation immediately. Urge them to support H.B. 7013, “An Act Concerning Enhancements To The Local Food For Schools Incentive Program And The CT Grown For CT Kids Grant Program,” currently under consideration. This bill strengthens our state’s local food incentive program and ensures continued funding for farm-to-school initiatives through the CT Grown for CT Kids Grant Program. These programs are proven to work. Please support them.
Ali Ghiorse and Karen Saggese co-direct Greenwich Food Alliance, a program of The Foodshed Network, that advances Greenwich’s food security initiatives by strengthening & leveraging relationships, knowledge and networks.
发表回复