The U.S. Department of Agriculture signed a cooperative agreement with Minnesota to increase the purchase of nutritious, local food for school meal programs.
In an Aug. 23 news release, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service announced that it signed a $3,458,752 cooperative agreement for the purchase of wholesome, regional foods for school meals through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. The program's first state to sign a collaboration agreement is Minnesota.
“This cooperative agreement supporting Minnesota’s schools is another example of how USDA is working to build a more resilient food system rooted in local and regional production," USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt said in the release.
According to the release, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture will buy and distribute local and regional foods and drinks for schools to serve students under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. To improve child nutrition and create new connections between local farmers and schools, these goods will be nutritious and distinctive to their geographic location.
“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," Moffitt said, according to the release.
The MDA expects the new funding to increase the amount of Minnesota schools that participate in local food procurement, increase the local food that is purchased by schools and develop new partnerships between schools and Minnesota food producers, specifically underserved farms and small businesses. Funds will be sub-awarded to schools through a competitive Farm to School grant program that will reimburse schools for local food purchases, according to the release.
The cooperative agreements ensure flexibility to organizations when it comes to the development of food purchasing programs as well as creating partnerships with farmers and ranchers for local needs, accommodating conditions of the environment and climate, tracking seasonal harvests, improving resilience in the supply chain and meeting the school needs in their designated service area, the release reported. The program will also offer additional opportunities for underserved producers and processors that are underserved, allowing them to sell their products.
