February 13, 2023
Editor’s Note: This guest blog post by FoodCorps, an NSAC member, discusses the USDA’s proposed school nutrition and local sourcing guidelines to update nutrition standards for school meals. These recommendations build off of the work of school nutrition professionals to deliver nourishing food to students every day. The public comment period on the guidelines is open until April 10.
September 7, 2022
NSAC applauds USDA’s announcement of $400 million to establish Regional Food Business Centers. NSAC is pleased to see that USDA is structuring this critical investment in a way that builds on existing partnerships and initiatives and prioritizes resources where they are most needed.
July 29, 2021
Editor’s Note: This is a guest blog post authored by Ben Feldman, Executive Director of the Farmers Market Coalition, an National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition member, in honor of the 22nd annual National Farmers Market Week, August 1-7th, 2021. For over two decades, National Farmers Market Week (NFMW) has been a time of celebration for everyone […]
July 22, 2021
On June 30th, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and approved its fiscal year (FY) 2022 Agriculture Spending bill. The full House Appropriations Committee markup and approval followed the Agriculture Subcommittee’s approval of the funding bill on Friday, June 12. The agriculture appropriations bill includes funding for a wide range of farm and food programs, […]
May 20, 2021
On May 5, 2021 USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced the availability of $15.3 million in funding for the second ever Request for Applications (RFA) for the Regional Food Systems Partnership (RFSP) Program. RFSP is a new program that supports foodshed-level approaches to developing regional food economies. RFSP was launched in the 2018 Farm Bill […]
May 6, 2021
On May 5, 2021 USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced the availability of $76.9 million in funding for the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP). FMLFPP has two subprograms – the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) – with a separate Request for Applications (RFA) for each […]
October 14, 2020
Local food systems and direct-to-consumer marketing through farmers markets, farm stands, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) programs have flourished across the country over the past several decades. Once viewed as a fad or niche part of the food sector, local food systems and direct marketing agriculture are now an integral part of American agriculture and […]
June 18, 2020
In late April, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the highly anticipated Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), a two pronged plan the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would implement to distribute $23.5 billion in Congressionally provided aid to farmers impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. CFAP consists of two distinct programs: $16 billion in direct […]
May 28, 2020
Americans’ interest in knowing more about where, how, and by whom their food is produced has been growing for many years and the coronavirus pandemic has shown new light on the serious shortcomings in our highly concentrated food production system. Along with the rise of the local food movement there has also been a building […]
May 22, 2020
USDA recently announced details of the new Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) which will open for enrollment on May 26, 2020. CFAP will provide $16 billion in aid to farmers who suffered economic losses due to the pandemic. NSAC is glad to see relief begin to flow to farmers, but there are several shortcomings in the program that will make it more difficult for some farmers to seek relief. In this blog, we break down what farmers need to know about this new program.