Lend a Ear to These Good Food Listening Sessions
Learn more about the Local Food Purchasing Assistance program and USDA's Urban Ag Agenda
Have a Voice in Illinois’ $14 Million Local Food Buys
The state of Illinois is receiving more than $14 million in federal funds that will benefit both underserved farmers and people who live in food-insecure communities. To gain public input on how to carry out this program, the Illinois Department of Agriculture and University of Illinois Extension are holding a series of listening sessions around the state.
The first of these discussions about the program — formally the Local Food Purchasing Agreement (LFPA) — will be held online on Wednesday, February 8 at 3:45 p.m. as part of the 18th Annual Food Justice Summit, produced by Chicago Food Policy Action Council.
This three-day event will also feature a listening session during its live gathering on Friday, February 10 at 1 p.m. at the University of Illinois Chicago Student Center East (750 S. Halsted St.).
Click the 1st button below to register (for free) for the Summit in order to participate in either or both of the LFPA listening sessions, and click the 2nd button for the full Summit schedule. A full release about LFPA from Illinois Stewardship Alliance, including the schedule for subsequent listening sessions, follows.
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You can weigh in on how Illinois will spend $14.4 million to purchase local food from underserved farmers to feed our communities.
With funding from USDA through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement, Illinois’ new grant program will be announced in June.
In the meantime, farmers and food system leaders like you can help shape how the program rolls out to support a resilient local food system.
There will be a number of LFPA listening sessions held around the state:
Wednesday, February 8: Online
3:45pm – 5:00pm
Virtual listening session at Chicago Food Justice Summit
Register for the Summit to participate
Friday, February 10: Chicago
UIC Student Center East at 1pm
Register for the Chicago Food Justice Summit to participate
Wednesday, February 22: Southern Illinois
Marion Centre Mall, Community Room on the Second Floor
1301 Enterprise Way, Marion
Sessions at 8am, 11am, and 5pm
Register
Thursday, February 23: Metro East
Henry White Farm, 4747 Centreville Ave., Millstadt
Sessions at 8am, 11am, and 5pm
Register
Tuesday, February 28: Elgin
Elgin Community College, Room E111/112, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin
Sessions at 8am, 11am, and 5pm
Register
Friday, March 3: Kankakee
Kankakee Community College. Iroquois Room, D152, 100 College Drive, Kankakee
Register
March 22: Galesburg (TBA)
Virtual: Tentatively set for late March (TBA)
The events are all free, and include food (except the virtual session), but registration will be required.
LFPA funding will be used to purchase culturally appropriate food from underserved farmers and to establish a network of food aggregation hubs to distribute those products to food insecure communities.
This rare funding opportunity will kickstart rebuilding a local food system in Illinois — one that is equitable, builds the wealth of our communities, and makes fresh food available to those who need it most.
It has the potential to strengthen sustainable and durable networks of food hubs and distribution efforts that will make local food more accessible and affordable.
The program is led by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services, and coordinated by U of I Extension.
Share Your Ideas on Urban Ag at USDA Listening Session
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has shared a message urging urban producers, innovative producers, other stakeholders, and members of the public to attend the online February meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
At this meeting, scheduled for 2:30-5:00 p.m. central time on Thursday, February 23, the Committee will discuss recommendations it intends to submit to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to remove barriers to urban and innovative producers and increase access of urban and innovative producers to USDA programs and services.
This is an opportunity for producers and support organizations that are interested in urban agriculture to learn more about recommendations being made to Secretary Vilsack and/or submit a comment to the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
Click the buttons to register for the meeting by February 23, to learn more about the topic, and to access information on how to submit written comments to the USDA by its March 9 deadline.