Reed, Local Farmers & Advocates Discuss EAT Local Foods Act

WATCH: Sen. Reed joins local farmers & community organizations to discuss the EAT Local Foods Act

PROVIDENCE, RI – Looking to grow Rhode Island’s sustainable, resilient farm-to-fork and dock-to-dish food supply chain while feeding neighbors in need and help local farmers, growers, and fishermen expand their markets, a group of Rhode Island’s leading agriculture, culinary, and food policy experts came together at City Farm in South Providence today to stump for the Expanding Access To (EAT) Local Foods Act (S.3982).

As Congress considers the Farm Bill, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, the lead author of the EAT Local Foods Act, gathered with community partners at Southside Community Land Trust’s (SCLT) City Farm, a working, three-quarter acre urban production and demonstration farm.  Reed was joined by advocates from Farm Fresh Rhode Island; the Rhode Island Food Policy Council (RIFPC); SCLT; and local farmers, fishermen, and food producers to discuss how the EAT Local Foods Act would help farmers and growers reach new markets and catalyze business growth while increasing access to locally-grown, nutritious food in underserved communities. 

The bill seeks to build on a successful, proven template – the Local Food Purchase Cooperative Agreement (LFPA) Program – with the goal of promoting economic opportunities for farmers, fisherman, and food producers and strengthening the nation’s food supply chain network.

“The EAT Local Foods Act would strengthen our regional food system and help local farmers, fishers and growers put delicious and healthy food on more tables while growing their markets.  It’s a win-win,” said Senator Reed, who helped include language in a version of the Farm Bill making its way through the Senate Agriculture Committee that would codify LFPA and provide $200 million over five years in mandatory funding for the EAT Local Foods Act. “As Rhode Islanders know, good food brings people together.  I am pleased to join so many terrific partners and supporters of this important bill today.  And I am hopeful we can get bipartisan support for strengthening local economies by stimulating demand for nutritious foods, bolstering revenues for farmers, fishermen, grocers, and food retailers.”

The EAT Local Foods Act is supported by a wide range of farmers, food hubs, coalitions, and business networks from across the country, including the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, the National Center for Frontier Communities, the Wallace Center at Winrock International, and more. 

In Rhode Island, the bill is supported by several leading organizations, including: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, and Southside Community Land Trust. 

“The USDA LFPA program in Rhode Island has been a transformative partnership. Through the end of May 2024 the LFPA has invested over $740,000 into the local food economy. Of that total number, over $432,000, or 58% of the funding, has gone directly to socially disadvantaged farmers and fishers in Rhode Island. Through our working partnership with Southside Community Land Trust, the African Alliance, the Commercial Fisheries Center, the RI Food Policy Council and food access agencies across the state, our collective action has connected tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders in need with fresh, healthy, local foods. We applaud Senator Reed's national leadership to sustain this effort through the EAT Local Food Act. He recognizes that the momentum our partnership has grown must continue. He sees that we are addressing food insecurity with thoughtful local solutions and building more resilient communities and a stronger local economy,” said Jesse Rye, Executive Director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island.

“In 2023, the RI Food Policy Council, an independent statewide network working to create a more just and resilient food system, launched the Rhody Feeding Rhody Alliance with many partners here today. The Alliance creates sustainable connections for local farmers and fishers with food pantries, food rescue organizations, food distributors, and other partners so that Rhode Islanders in need of fresh, local, culturally-appropriate food have better and more consistent access to it. It is open to everyone doing this work in the state, and everyone doing the work would benefit from adoption of Senator Reed’s EAT Local Foods Act in the next Farm Bill.” said Nessa Richman, Executive Director of the RI Food Policy Council.  “We need the amazing gains made by connecting local farmers with food insecure families to be sustainable. Sustainable gains take sustained support. The EAT Local Foods act is the solution, and the RI Food Policy Council strongly supports its inclusion in the next Farm Bill.”

“This program is a dream come true,” said Margaret Devos, Executive Director of SCLT.  “It calls for purchases of food from small, locally owned farms in Rhode Island instead of highly processed foods from factories in other places. Those crops get distributed for free to food insecure people through community organizations in places where fresh, healthy affordable food is scarce. What could be better?”

The EAT Local Foods Act would create a permanent grant program for state and tribal governments to procure local foods for distribution to nearby hunger relief programs.  It would leverage government procurement and purchasing power to increase access to locally-sourced, fresh, healthy, and nutritious food in underserved communities and help family farmers, fishermen, and local food producers grow their markets. This grant program would in turn:

• Support local economic development by creating new access to the hunger relief market for local farmers and fishermen. This, in turn, will establish a new, reliable stream of orders for small, beginning, and underserved farmers, ranchers, and fishers, giving these businesses the financial security to invest and further expand. 

• Strengthen our domestic agriculture supply chain by investing in local food distribution.  The bill would help build local businesses that support durable and resilient local food systems. 

• Combat food insecurity by providing fresh, nutritious, local food to underserved communities, feeding more families and helping ease the strain on the hunger relief system. 

During the COVID pandemic, Congress made $900 million available for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food purchasing efforts through the LFPA. This program has helped strengthen local and regional food systems, improved agricultural supply-chain resiliency, and supported underserved producers and communities.  Using LFPA funds, states set up approved programs to purchase food produced within the state or within 400 miles of delivery destination, which was then distributed through food banks, pantries, and other food distribution centers where hungry families in need can receive food.

At today’s event, Senator Reed was joined by Sienna Viette, co-manager of Open fArms Retreat in Cumberland – a teaching farm for youth and communities throughout Rhode Island – who helped foster collaboration to bring LFPA program funding to the Woonsocket area during the pandemic to distribute fresh, locally-grown produce, as well as Helene Miller, the executive director of Partnership for Providence Parks, who helped to distribute food into the community.

“The LFPA funding has not only provided access to fresh, locally-grown produce for the Woonsocket Community, but also increased our resiliency as a small farm by providing a stable source of income throughout the growing season. In 2023 we delivered over 2500 lbs of food to food insecure families in Woonsocket through a CSA, the Connecting for Children’s and Family family center, and New Beginnings Kitchen. All of the produce was delivered free of charge to our community members with the support of the LFPA funding. It has allowed families in a town without a large grocery store to access fresh, locally-grown produce and connect with the land it is grown on,” said Sienna Viette of Open fArms Retreat. “The EAT Local Foods Act would expand and permanently provide funding to ensure small farms such as ours will continue delivering fresh foods to community members with the least amount of access to them.”

In Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), working with nonprofits like Farm Fresh RI and SCLT, was awarded a total of $1.78 million to purchase local foods for distribution within the state.  To date, DEM, Farm Fresh, and their partners, have purchased food from 95 local producers and distributed that nutritious, local food to over 65,000 Rhode Islanders. 

The LFPA is scheduled to sunset once the $900 million in one-time funds are expended.  The EAT Local Foods Act would codify the program into law, providing permanent funding to ensure the program continues.

The measure is cosponsored by more than a dozen U.S. Senators, including: Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Laphonza R. Butler (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Angus King (I-ME), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).