SC Commissioner Weathers: LFPA

The Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Program is a federal grant program authorized by the American Rescue Plan and SC Ag Commissioner Hugh Weathers is here to talk about SCDA’s role in the program.

• The Local Food Purchase Assistance program is a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA).
• SCDA was awarded $4.7 million to purchase food from local, socially disadvantaged producers to distribute to underserved populations within our communities.
• Purchased food then gets distributed to local underserved communities, helping both the producers and the communities they serve.
• In addition to increasing consumption of local, healthy, and culturally unique foods, this program will help build and expand economic opportunity for the socially disadvantaged producers of South Carolina.
• To facilitate the connection between producers and aggregators, SCDA is working to identify South Carolina producers that would like to sell product through this program, with a focus on those that identify as socially disadvantaged.
• The LFPA Program is not limited to fresh produce. Any food or beverage products that are grown and produced in South Carolina or within 400 miles of the delivery destination are permissible. This includes processed products and seafood.
• Our website, agriculture.sc.gov/lfpa has several resources for anyone interested in learning more—from an FAQ page, a list of approved aggregators, producer registration forms, and flyers.
• There is a training being held at the Colleton County Museum on May 23 from 12-2 PM with a lunch. Any interested distributors and producers are welcome. You can RSVP to Jason Smith, jsmith@scda.sc.gov, the Program Coordinator for LFPA.