LAMP to receive $130M in supplemental funding

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., announced that $130 million in supplemental American Rescue Plan Act funding will be given to the Local Agriculture Market Program, according to a news release.

The funding will go toward promoting competition and creating more and improved markets for local and regional food producers via expanding and strengthening opportunities to sell to institutions like universities, hospitals and locations operated by local, tribal and state governments. The supplemental ARP funding given to LAMP will be divided into $65 million for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

In fiscal year 2022, LAMP will receive a total of $97 million in competitive grant funding to aid local and regional food entities develop, coordinate and expand producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and local food enterprises. Included in this total are the first $65 million of the supplemental ARP funding and $32 million in funds given through the 2018 Farm Bill.

Breaking down this $97 million funding total for 2022, LAMP’s Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program will receive $57 million and the Regional Food System Partnerships will receive $40 million.

“Through these grant programs, we are able to maximize opportunities for economic growth and ingenuity in the local and regional food system,” says Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture. “These grants have generated new income sources for small, beginning and historically underserved farmers; increased local food access across rural and urban communities; and provided platforms for value-added and niche products to shine. This year, we are excited to further develop market opportunities for producers by focusing on farm to institution. Expanded access to and local food purchasing within institutional markets could be a major boon for small and mid-sized producers located throughout the country.”

FMLFPP functions through the Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Local Food Promotion Program. FMPP supports direct to-consumer markets like food markets and CSAs, and the LFPP supports indirect to-consumer markets like food hubs and value-added product incubators. Both programs require a 25% cash or in-kind match of the federal portion of the grant.

RFSP supports public-private partnerships that build and strengthen the resilience of local or regional food economies. Its projects focus on growing the availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products and alleviating unnecessary administrative and technical barriers. Projects can cover the planning and design of a local and regional food economy, as well as implementing or expanding an existing one. This program requires 25% cash match of the federal portion of the grant.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service encourages applications that help smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers and/or underserved communities. Applicants should engage and involve those beneficiaries when developing projects and applications for grants intending to serve these entities.

Webinars are available to provide help for those looking to apply. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on May 16.