That Food For People Matching-Fund Fundraising Challenge Was Massively Successful, and Now FFP Has $182,000 to Spend With Local Farmers

###

PREVIOUSLY:

###

Press release from Food For People:

A
fundraising challenge launched by two friends of Food for People in response to federal funding cuts has raised more than double the
original goal.

Supporters
from all over Humboldt County and as far away as Plano, Texas and
Seattle, Washington gave a combined $128,500 to the Farmers Fund Challenge including a last-minute contribution of $55,000 from one
donor! Combined with the matching funds Food for People has $182,000
to purchase produce from local farmers.

Food
for People supporters Melanie Williams and Barbara Goldberg were
moved to create the $50,000 challenge after hearing local news about
the elimination of the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA)
cooperative agreement. The federal program provided the food bank
about $360,000 per year over the last three years to buy locally
grown food from small farmers and other producers.

“The
unexpected cut to LFPA was a huge blow for us, and it is harmful for
the entire farming community too,” says Carly Robbins, Food for
People’s Executive Director. “Many local farms had already
planned their growing season around the funds we were contracted to
spend, some already have crops in the ground.” Robbins says the
overwhelming response from the community will allow Food for People
to keep local produce in its pantries and child and senior nutrition
programs, although less than under the USDA program.

Last
year, the food bank purchased nearly 90,000 pounds of local produce
through the LFPA program that equated to nearly $300,000 in local
spending. The Locally Delicious Farmers Fund was created in 2010 by a
group called The Heirloom Tomatoes. The fund supports purchasing from
local farms and producers and giving people who use Food for People’s
programs access to more local foods. Today, the fund is managed by
Food for People, specifically for the purchase of locally grown and
produced foods.

More
information about where to find a food pantry in your area and other
food distributions or how to support Food for People’s programs as
a financial supporter, business sponsor, volunteer or advocate can be
found at foodforpeople.org.

###

Food
for People, the food bank for Humboldt County, distributed 2.4
million pounds of food last year, and its services reach more than
21,000 people monthly. Food for People’s 18 programs include a
countywide network of emergency food pantries, food distribution
programs for children, seniors and homebound individuals, nutrition
education and outreach activities, local food recovery, gleaning and
disaster relief, as well as many partnerships throughout the
community. For more information, go to www.foodforpeople.org.