The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce was awarded a cooperative agreement from USDA for the Mississippi Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA). The program has two purposes:
- To increase the distribution of locally-produced food to underserved communities by utilizing the distribution network of Mississippi’s Feeding America Affiliated Food Banks; and
- To increase economic opportunities of local, regional, and socially disadvantaged farmers/producers by purchasing locally produced food products and creating connections between the producers and food distributors.
The link below is for a producer of locally and regionally produced food; meaning the food is raised, produced, aggregated, stored, processed, and distributed in Mississippi or within 400 miles of the point of distribution in Mississippi. Examples include fresh fruits and vegetables, and processed foods and beverages including milk, beef, poultry, pork and rice.
Farmers and food producers interested in potentially marketing products through this program should provide product packaging, availability, and quantity information along with delivery capabilities.
This information will be made available to Mississippi’s Feeding America Affiliated Food Banks which include: the Mississippi Food Network; the Mid-South Food Bank; and Feeding the Gulf Coast. These food banks will be responsible for procuring locally and regionally produced food and distributing to underserved communities throughout Mississippi.
This program is expected to operate through 2024, or as long as funds are available.
Questionnaire Link: https://agnet.mdac.ms.gov/FoodBank/
