USDA to invest in $92.2 million in grants for local, regional food producers hurt by pandemic

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said  $92.2 million in competitive grant funding is available under the 2018 Farm Bill’s Local Agriculture Market Program(LAMP).

The LAMP grants announced, the USDA said, are funded through the Farmers Market program as part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers Initiative.

USDA launched this initiative in March to address shortfalls and disparities in how assistance was distributed in previous COVID-19 assistance packages, according to a news release. The program has a specific focus on strengthening outreach to underserved producers and communities and small and medium agricultural operations, the release said. 

The USDA said the grants support the development, coordination and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and enterprises and value-added agricultural products. 
“We have an opportunity to transform our nation’s food system with a greater focus on resilient, local and regional food systems,”  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release. “These grants will help maximize opportunities for economic growth and ingenuity in local and regional food systems to kickstart this transformation. LAMP grants have a history of generating new income sources for small, beginning, veteran and socially disadvantaged farmers and creating new market opportunities for value-added and niche products.”

USDA encourages projects that assist underserved local and regional agricultural businesses, producer networks and associations, and local and tribal government in responding to COVID-19 disruptions and impacts, according to the release.

Grant details

USDA will award $76.9 million ($22.5 million in the 2018 Farm Bill, $47 million provided as emergency funding through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and $7.4 in annual appropriations) to 
the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program.

Projects under the Farmers Market Promotion Program support direct-to-consumer markets like farmers markets and CSAs, according to the release. Projects under the Local Food Promotion Program supports indirect-to-consumer markets like food hubs and value-added product incubators, the USDA said.

In addition, the USDA said it will award $15.3 million ($5 million in the 2018 Farm Bill and $10.3 provided as emergency funding through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021) to the Regional Food System Partnerships to fund public-private partnerships that build and strengthen viability and resilience of local or regional food economies.

For more information about grant eligibility and previously funded projects, contact us at USDAFMPPQuestions@usda.gov, USDALFPPQuestions@usda.gov,or IPPGrants@usda.gov.