The Illinois Department of Agriculture in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services and University of Illinois Extension entered into the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement to create a meaningful and sustainable model to bridge underserved farmers and ranchers with food insecure communities. This cooperative agreement is an opportunity to unite Illinoisans invested in building a resilient and diverse food system and a network of food system support. Additionally, this program prioritizes ensuring culturally appropriate fresh foods are available to food insecure communities.
In November 2022, a planning committee of stakeholders began convening to develop an implementation plan of how LFPA funding will be used in the most effective and efficient manner. The most critical need identified to date is the development of a network of “lead sites,” also commonly described as aggregation or distribution sites, where underserved farmers have a dedicated network to sell product at fair market value. These sites would take on many other necessary roles, including but not limited to packaging and storing product, transporting product, tracking metrics and reporting mandatory elements.
The State of Illinois will publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the issuance of multiple subawards for management of “lead sites.” Lead sites will be located throughout the state to ensure equitable distribution of products to underserved communities. These networks are to be built with a goal of making certain the opportunities created by the program are sustainable and the networks created are durable.
The Departments are committed to purchasing products from underserved farmers and ranchers and distributing to underserved communities. Intended beneficiaries in underserved communities include, but are not limited to existing pantry networks, early childcare centers, schools, before and after care programs, mobile food pantries, nonprofits, faith-based providers, community-based providers and healthcare systems that work with underserved populations.