The
U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA)
Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) today announced it has signed a cooperative agreement with
Indiana
for more than
$4.4 million
to increase their purchase of nutritious, local foods for school meal programs.
Through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS), the
Indiana Department of Health
(IDOH) will purchase and distribute local and regional foods and beverages for schools to serve children through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. These products will be healthy and unique to their geographic area, with the goal of improving child nutrition and building new relationships between schools and local farmers.
"This cooperative agreement supporting
Indiana
schools is another example of how
USDA
is working to build a more resilient food system rooted in local and regional production," said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Jenny Lester Moffitt
. "The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program provides an opportunity for states to strengthen ties between local farmers, ranchers, food businesses and schools, and gives students access to nutritious foods unique to the area they live in, building stronger connections across local communities."
"Strengthening relationships between local producers and schools is a long-term strategy to ensure our children always have access to nutritious foods in school, a win-win for child health and American agriculture," said Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
Stacy Dean
. "Through this program and many other efforts to support the school meal programs,
USDA
is committed to giving schools the tools they need to set children up to learn, grow, and thrive."
With the LFS funds,
IDOH Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity
(DNPA) in collaboration with the
Indiana Department of Education
(IDOE) and other statewide partners will work to develop sustainable and equitable partnerships between
Indiana
farms and schools. This program and partnerships will create a more resilient local and regional food systems by increasing the access of nutritious foods for schools within the state which will also benefit farmers and local communities.
"Increasing the amount of fresh, local foods in K-12 cafeterias within our most underserved communities is a powerful building block to create programming and school environments that can be foundational for lifelong wellness and good nutrition for Hoosier youth," said
State Health
Commissioner
Kris Box
, M.D., FACOG. "We are thrilled to be able to work with our partners to implement the Local Food for
Schools Project
in
Indiana
and connect socially disadvantaged food producers with schools with unmet nutritional needs."
The LFS cooperative agreements will allow organizations the flexibility to design food purchasing programs and establish partnerships with farmers and ranchers that best suit their local needs, accommodate environmental and climate conditions, account for seasonal harvests, improve supply chain resiliency and meet the needs of schools within their service area. Additionally, the program will provide more opportunities for historically underserved producers and processors to sell their products. Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program is authorized by the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act. AMS looks forward to continuing to sign agreements under this innovative program.
The Local Food for Schools cooperative agreement program is one of many ways
USDA
is supporting school meal programs this school year and transforming our food system in the long term.
#
USDA
touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the
Biden-Harris Administration
,
USDA
is transforming America's food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America.
