How a federal program is helping Kentucky farms and low-income families

A federal program is partnering with Kentucky farmers and food banks to fight food insecurity, and both stakeholders are celebrating the progress it's making.

The USDA's Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program launched in Kentucky in 2022, and allows the state to use grant money to pay local and regional producers in exchange for food to distribute to low-income or underserved communities.

At its inception, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture explained it is meant to improve and stabilize food supply chains, while also supporting socially disadvantaged Kentuckians.

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One of the state's partner farms, Salad Days Farm in Woodford County, joined at the very beginning of the program.

"Part of our goal is to reach more people, people who can't necessarily afford it," said owner Maggie Dungan.

Salad Days operates on just two acres of land, but outputs roughly two tons of produce every year.

Dungan said last year, about 10% of its sales came from the LFPA program.

Once that food leaves the farm, it goes to one of seven food banks across the state, serving 120 counties.

In Central Kentucky, God's Pantry Food Bank is responsible for the distribution.

"[We] received LFPA grant funding from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, and that was for us to be able to source from local farmers, make nutritious meals, and be able to distribute them throughout our 50-county service area," said Danielle Bozarth, vice president of mission delivery at God's Pantry.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has received a total of $11 million in funds to operate the program, and it is currently authorized through August 2025.

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Non-profit Feeding Kentucky oversees the overall management of the program.

"We're purchasing products at retail price from the farmers and then delivering that to the food banks," programs director Sarah Vaughn explained.

Feeding Kentucky's concern is what could happen once the funding expires next year.

"Once that funding is gone, it's gone," Vaught said. "And so we're currently working to try to come up with a replacement for that funding, and also encouraging lawmakers to see the value in the program and have it stick around."

Since the beginning of the year, 49 farmers have participated in the LFPA program, distributing nearly 200,000 pounds of food to date.

Feeding Kentucky hopes to work to expand the program to include more farmers and communities in the future.