National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

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

NSAC's Blog

Local Farms and Food Act Strengthens Regional Food Economies Across the US

The COVID-19 pandemic created social and economic conditions that affected our food system from producers to consumers. Domestic and international supply chains were interrupted leaving farmers without markets for their products and grocery store shelves bare. Local producers and markets such as farmers markets, CSAs (community supported agriculture), farm stands, and community gardens that are often considered niche were now essential food sources for communities across the country. 

While local food economies received new attention during the pandemic, these initiatives and systems have been in development for decades and have received targeted federal investment since the early 2000s. Early programs focused on funding for farmers participating in direct-marketing strategies. Yet these programs have evolved significantly to take a comprehensive approach to providing support for the broader food system, in part due to NSAC’s steadfast advocacy for local and regional food systems. 

The Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) includes four grant programs and technical assistance from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and Rural Development to establish and promote local food economies that develop, coordinate and expand: 

  • farmers markets, roadside stands, CSA programs, agritourism, and innovative direct marketing strategies,  
  • food business enterprises that act as intermediaries between local producers and consumers at the individual, institutional, and community level, 
  • opportunities for producers to diversify farm revenue by incorporating value-added production and marketing, and 
  • partnerships between public and private stakeholders that are committed to building resilient regional food economies through coordinated collaboration. 

Last week Senator Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4) introduced the Local Farms and Food Act  (S.1205, H.R. 2723) that would offer reforms to LAMP among other programs, to respond to lessons learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, sustain investments in impacted communities, and promote a resilient local and regional food system. 

Spending in local food systems leads to healthy and thriving communities

Local and regional food systems build more connections between farmers and consumers. These important connections – including efforts like farmers markets and food hubs – also help grow economic opportunities for small and mid-sized family farmers, increase consumer choice and access to fresh and healthy food, and lead to broader social and community benefits.

Farmers earn more

  • Shorter supply chains or fewer intermediaries allows for a larger portion of every dollar to return directly to the farmer. 
  • Consumers understand the broader impact of local food products and are willing to pay more for them. 
  • Local food markets offer a pathway for profitable operations among beginning farmers and ranchers. 

Economies grow 

  • Growers selling locally generate more jobs than producers that do not. Growers that sell locally create 13 full time jobs per $1 million in revenue earned compared to 3 jobs among those that do not. 
  • An evaluation of the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Programs estimated that every dollar invested generated a $2.67 return in the community. 

Communities are healthier

  • Farmers markets offer more than places to buy food; they offer social and community hubs that often include nutrition education and cooking demonstrations that promote family well-being. 
  • Research has also shown that communities with more direct farm sales (e.g., from a farmers’ market or a farm stand) have lower levels of mortality, obesity, and diabetes among residents. 

The Local Farms and Food Act will build and strengthen local food systems

The Local Farms and Food Act (S.1205, H.R. 2723), introduced last week by Senator Brown and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Dan Newhouse, offers programmatic reforms and increases funding to scale for existing demand among the Local Agriculture Market Programs (LAMP), Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP). 

The proposed changes will strengthen regional food system infrastructure and coordination, reduce barriers for participation in federal grant programs, and increase the impact of federal nutrition benefits in local markets. The ways in which the bill would accomplish this are outlined below. 

Local Agriculture Market Program

  • Create a new “turnkey grant” opportunity for a streamlined application process for projects of $100,000 or less for Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion grants (FMLFPP) to support market and business development needs and catalyze growth
  • Reduce match requirements for Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) from 50% to 25% for smaller growers who have $250,000 or less in gross sales annually 
  • Ensure program investments reach underserved regions in the country by prioritizing geographic diversity and balance for awards 
  • Update the program’s eligible activities and funding uses to support:
    • physical infrastructure and general purpose equipment purchases 
    • implementation and logistics required for families to redeem federal nutrition benefits at farmers markets 
    • wrap around services critical for local food ventures, such as value chain coordination, outreach, and technical assistance 
  • Increase mandatory funding from $50 million to $75 million annually and increase appropriations authority from $20 million to $30 million per year

Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program

  • Increase access to the program by reducing the match requirement for applicants from 50% to 25% 
  • Establish a review panel for GusNIP produce prescription grants that includes healthcare provider perspectives

Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program 

  • Reauthorize the program and provide appropriations authority at $10 million per year, in addition to the existing $20.6 million in annual mandatory funding 

Potential Impact

We know that farmers and consumers both benefit from improved access to fresh, healthy, local food in communities across the country – but building more connections between farmers and consumers takes work. Federal investments under LAMP, GusNIP and SFMNP have been essential to the growth of local food sales, which according to a recent Economic Research Service Report totaled $11.8 billion in 2017, but organizations and farmers still report barriers to participating in the program due to the application process or match requirements. 

Kansas Rural Center, an NSAC member and recent Local Food Promotion Program awardee, shared that by serving as a partner on the award, they are acting to support other organizations in the state who would not have applied otherwise due to the lengthy application and match requirements. Kansas Rural Center cited their experience navigating federal awards and ability to provide the match as critical and named it as a barrier for others.  As a result, they will work alongside Common Ground Producers and Growers, Kansas Wesleyan University and St. John’s Baptist Church of Salina to create a “food corridor” along Interstate 135 that bridges Wichita and Salina in central Kansas, in which a new food hub will be established. 

Reforms offered under the Local Farms and Food Act will reduce these barriers and allow federal investments to reach a diverse range of producers and organizations that have not previously had the opportunity.

Get Involved