The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) will take a dual approach to the Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) project. The total funding award will be split into two separate “tracks:” 1) the Indiana Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, in collaboration with Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), oversee a statewide acquisition and distribution project that will provide grant funding to the Fresh Connect cooperative (consisting of all food banks serving Indiana) to identify, engage and purchase agricultural products from socially disadvantaged producers, and distribute the food to identified underserved communities; 2) the IDOH Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity (DNPA) will oversee a regional approach that divides the state of Indiana into five (5) distinct regions (based on the 12-region Department of Workforce Development (DWD) economic development map, and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) coverage maps). The DNPA released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to Regional Partnership Cohorts that focus on the purchase and distribution of food from local/socially disadvantaged producers and long-term economic expansion strategies for producers. Five (5) proposals were awarded to fund projects that will address racial and social inequities within their regional food system. The additional LFPA Plus funding will expand and lengthen (by an additional year) both Track 1 and Track 2 activities and allow for additional purchases of agricultural products from eligible producers and further expand service to underserved communities.
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