The Role of Local Food Systems in
U.S. Farm Policy
Renée Johnson
Specialist in Agricultural Policy
Tadlock Cowan
Analyst in Natural Resources and Rural Development
Randy Alison Aussenberg
Analyst in Social Policy
January 24, 2012
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R42155
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress

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The Role of Local Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy

Summary
Sales of locally produced foods comprise a small but growing part of U.S. agricultural sales.
USDA estimates that farm-level value of local food sales totaled about $4.8 billion in 2008, or
about 1.6% of the U.S. market for agricultural products. An estimated total of 107,000 farms are
engaged in local food systems, or about 5% of all U.S. farms.
There is no established definition of what constitutes a “local food.” Local and regional food
systems generally refer to agricultural production and marketing that occurs within a certain
geographic proximity (between farmer and consumer) or that involves certain social or supply
chain characteristics in producing food (such as small family farms, urban gardens, or farms using
sustainable agriculture practices). Some perceive locally sourced foods as fresher and higher in
quality compared to some other readily available foods, and also believe that purchasing local
foods helps support local farm economies and/or farmers that use certain production practices that
are perceived to be more environmentally sustainable.
A wide range of farm businesses may be considered to be engaged in local foods. These include
direct-to-consumer marketing, farmers’ markets, farm-to-school programs, community-supported
agriculture, community gardens, school gardens, food hubs and market aggregators, and kitchen
incubators and mobile slaughter units. Other types of operations include on-farm sales/stores,
internet marketing, food cooperatives and buying clubs, pick-your-own or “U-Pick” operations,
roadside farm stands, urban farms (and rooftop farms and gardens), community kitchens, small-
scale food processing and decentralized root cellars, and some agritourism or other types of on-
farm recreational activities.
The 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008) contained a few
program provisions that directly support local and regional food systems. However, many farm
bill-related programs benefiting agricultural producers may provide support and assistance for
such food systems. These include federal farm support and grant programs administered by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which may be grouped into several broad program
categories: marketing and promotion; business assistance; rural and community development;
nutrition and education; agricultural research and cooperative extension; and farmland
conservation. Examples include USDA’s farmers’ market programs, rural cooperative grants, and
selected child nutrition programs, among myriad other grant and loan programs, as well as
USDA’s research and cooperative extension service.
Although the farm bill currently contains few specific programs that directly support local and
regional food systems, many community and farm advocacy groups have been arguing that such
food systems should play a larger policy role within the next farm bill, and that laws should be
modified to reflect broader, more equitable policies across a range of production systems,
including local food systems. The 112th Congress will likely consider reauthorization of the 2008
farm bill, and may debate options for providing additional support for local and regional
producers. To date, a number of bills have been introduced, including comprehensive marker
bills, that would expand the benefits for local and regional food systems.

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The Role of Local Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy

Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1
Local Food Markets......................................................................................................................... 2
Estimated Market Size............................................................................................................... 2
Definitions of Local Foods........................................................................................................ 3
“Local” Based on Distance Traveled .................................................................................. 4
“Local” Based on Marketing Outlet.................................................................................... 5
“Local” Based on Perceived Attributes ............................................................................... 7
Types of Businesses and Operations ....................................................................................... 11
Farmers’ Markets............................................................................................................... 11
Farm-to-School Programs ................................................................................................. 12
Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) ....................................................................... 13
Community Gardens and School Gardens ........................................................................ 14
Food Hubs and Market Aggregators ................................................................................. 16
Kitchen Incubators and Mobile Slaughter Units ............................................................... 17
Federal Programs and Initiatives ................................................................................................... 18
Selected USDA Programs........................................................................................................ 18
Loans for Local Food Producers ....................................................................................... 21
Local Food Purchases in Child Nutrition Programs.......................................................... 21
Grants for Farm-to-School Programs ................................................................................ 22
Other USDA Actions......................................................................................................... 22
Non-USDA Programs.............................................................................................................. 23
Administration’s Initiatives ..................................................................................................... 24
“Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Initiative............................................................ 24
Regional Innovation Initiative........................................................................................... 26
Healthy Food Financing Initiative..................................................................................... 26
Congressional Actions ................................................................................................................... 27
Legislative Options.................................................................................................................. 27
Pending Bills in the 112th Congress......................................................................................... 28
Considerations for Congress.................................................................................................... 30
Appendix. Overview of Selected Federal Programs...................................................................... 35
Marketing and Promotion........................................................................................................ 36
Specialty Crop Block Grant Program................................................................................ 36
Farmers’ Market Promotion Program................................................................................ 37
Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs ................................................................................ 37
Federal State Marketing Improvement Program ............................................................... 39
Business Assistance................................................................................................................. 39
Value-Added Producer Grants........................................................................................... 39
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program ................................................... 40
Small Business Innovation Research ................................................................................ 40
Agricultural Management Assistance................................................................................ 41
Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program.............................................. 42
Outreach and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers .................... 42
Rural and Community Development Programs....................................................................... 42
Rural Cooperative Development Grant............................................................................. 42
Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program ............................................................ 43
Community Facilities ........................................................................................................ 44
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Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) ....................................................................... 45
Rural Business Opportunity Grant .................................................................................... 45
Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program .................................................................. 46
Research and Cooperative Extension ...................................................................................... 47
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.............................................................. 47
Nutrition and Education .......................................................................................................... 47
Farm to School Program ................................................................................................... 47
School Gardens ................................................................................................................. 48
Commodity Procurement Through “DoD Fresh”.............................................................. 49
Community Food Projects................................................................................................. 50

Figures
Figure 1. USDA Estimates of Local Food Sales.............................................................................. 3
Figure 2. Value of Direct-to-Consumer Food Marketing, by Region (1997-2007) ......................... 7
Figure 3. Reliance on Direct-to-Consumer Marketing .................................................................. 10
Figure 4. Direct Sales..................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 5. Farmers’ Markets............................................................................................................ 12
Figure 6. Farm-to-School Programs .............................................................................................. 14
Figure 7. Community-Supported Agriculture................................................................................ 14
Figure 8. Community Gardens....................................................................................................... 15

Tables
Table 1. Marketing Channels Used by Local Food Sales Farms, by Farm Size .............................. 6
Table 2. Selected USDA Programs that Potentially Support Local and Regional Food
Systems....................................................................................................................................... 32

Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 50

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Introduction
Sales of locally produced foods comprise a small, but growing, part of U.S. agricultural sales. The
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that farm-level value of local food sales
totaled about $4.8 billion in 2008, about 1.6% of the U.S. market for agricultural products. An
estimated total of 107,000 farms were engaged in local food systems, about 5% of all U.S. farms.
Examples of the types of farming businesses that are engaged in local foods are direct-to-
consumer marketing, farmers’ markets, farm-to-school programs, community-supported
agriculture, community gardens, school gardens, food hubs and market aggregators, and kitchen
incubators and mobile slaughter units, among myriad other types of operations.
The 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008) contained a few
provisions that directly support local and regional food systems.1 However, the farm bill contains
several programs benefiting all agricultural producers that may provide indirect support and
assistance for such food systems. These include USDA farm support and grant programs that may
be grouped into the following broad program categories: marketing and promotion; business
assistance; rural and community development; nutrition and education; agricultural research and
cooperative extension; and farmland conservation. The 112th Congress likely will consider
reauthorization of the 2008 farm bill, and may debate options for providing additional support for
local and regional producers. To date, a number of bills have been introduced, including
comprehensive marker bills, that would expand the benefits for local and regional food systems.
Many community and farm advocacy groups have argued that such food systems should play a
larger policy role within the farm bill, and that the laws should be reformed to reflect broader,
more equitable policies across a range of production systems, including local and regional food
systems. Supporters of local foods cite the increasing popularity of local foods, given perceived
higher product quality and freshness, and a general belief that purchasing local foods helps
support local farm economies and/or farmers that use certain production practices that may be
more environmentally sustainable. They also contend that subsidizing the more traditional
agriculture producers creates a competitive disadvantage to other producers who do not receive
such support. Those opposed to extending farm bill benefits to local food systems cite concerns
about limited financial resources to support U.S. agriculture and the perceived need to support the
most efficient and productive farms. Other criticisms highlight the perception that USDA’s
support of local foods is mostly targeted to affluent consumers in urban areas, rather than farmers.
This report is organized into three parts. First, it provides background on local and regional food
systems, focusing on available data on direct-to-consumer sales, farmers’ markets, farm-to-school
programs, community-supported agriculture (CSA),2 and community gardens. Second, it
highlights available resources within existing federal programs administered by USDA and other

1 For the purposes of this report, “local and regional food systems” refers to systems in which foods are marketed
directly to the consumer, or in which the identity of the farm where the food is produced is preserved in some way
(often referred to “farm identity-preserved marketing”). USDA definitions of “direct-to-consumer” sales and “direct”
sales to consumers are not strictly equivalent: direct-to-consumer sales are defined as the value of agricultural products
sold directly to individuals for human consumption (e.g., from roadside stands, farmers’ markets, and U-pick sites), but
exclude agricultural products sold through their own processing and marketing operations (e.g., catalog or internet
sales) and nonedible products, which may be included as part of “direct” sales.
2 As is discussed later in this report, a CSA provides a way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a
farm by pledging to support that farm’s costs and risks at the beginning of each year in return for a share of that farm’s
annual production.
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agencies that may be applied to support local food systems. It also describes some of the Obama
Administration’s initiatives that leverage existing USDA programs to support local food systems.
(A more comprehensive table and description of existing programs is included in the Appendix).
Finally, it discusses some of the legislative options and proposals in the 112th Congress intended
to broaden support for local and regional food systems, as part of the next farm bill debate.
Local Food Markets
Estimated Market Size
In recent years, growing demand for “local” foods has raised the importance of direct farm sales
and the marketing of locally grown foods within the U.S. agricultural sector. Although local food
sales still comprise a small share of overall sales, demand continues to grow. USDA estimated
that the farm-level value of local food sales totaled about $4.8 billion in 2008, from both direct-
to-consumer sales and intermediated sales (Figure 1). Of this total, direct-to-consumer sales
accounted for $0.9 billion, and intermediated sales (through local grocers, restaurants, and
regional distributors) accounted for $2.7 billion in local food sales.3 Farms using both direct and
intermediated marketing channels accounted for another $1.2 billion in sales. Compared to a total
farm-level value of all U.S. agricultural production estimated at about $300 billion, the local
foods segment of the market accounted for about 1.6% of the U.S. market for agricultural
products.4 An estimated total of 107,000 farms were engaged in local food systems, about 5% of
all U.S. farms.5
The popularity of and demand for local foods continues to grow. Survey results reported by the
National Restaurant Association indicate that locally sourced meats and seafood and locally
grown produce are among the top menu trends for 2012, followed by healthful kids’ meals and
locally sourced foods and ingredients.6 Locally grown and organic foods are also expected to be
among the trends with the greatest growth potential in the produce industry.7 Some major food
retailers, such as Walmart, also have stated their intentions to increases their purchases of locally
sourced produce and food from small and medium farmers, along with other steps intended to
increase the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables to consumers.8

3 S. Low and S. Vogel, Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States, ERR-128, USDA
Economic Research Service (ERS), November 2011, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err128/; and “Local Foods
Marketing Channels Encompass a Wide Range of Producers,” Amber Waves, December 2011.
4 USDA, Census of Agriculture, 2007, Table 2. Data are for 2007.
5 Ibid. There were an estimated total of 2.2 million U.S. farms in 2007.
6 “Children’s Nutrition, Local Foods to Top Menu Trends,” Food Business News, December 8, 2011. Based on a
survey of 1,800 professional chefs who are members of the American Culinary Federation. Also, “Locally Sourced
Meats among Top Menu Trends for 2011,” Meatingplace, November 2, 2010.
7 Informal feedback to Fresh Produce Industry discussion group, November 14, 2011.
8 “Walmart Unveils Global Sustainable Agriculture Goals,” October 14, 2010, press release, http://walmartstores.com/
pressroom/news/10376.aspx; “Walmart ramping up fresh food marketing push next year” Agri-Pulse, December 2011.
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Figure 1. USDA Estimates of Local Food Sales
(farm value, 2008)

Source: S. Low and S. Vogel, “Local Foods Marketing Channels Encompass a Wide Range of Producers,” Amber
Waves, December 2011.
Definitions of Local Foods
The focus on locally sourced foods and efforts to convince consumers to “buy local” are not new
concepts. “State grown” or “locally grown” programs were introduced in the 1930s, and such
programs now exist in most U.S. states.9 In the late 1990s, the USDA-appointed National
Commission on Small Farms, among other recommendations, emphasized the need to strengthen
the “local farm economy” through policy changes within the department’s federal programs as a
way to better meet the needs of small farmers and ranchers.10 Although consumer interest in local
foods has some of its roots in the late 1960s and concerns about the environment, growth in
mainstream consumer demand has increased sharply in the past decade, along with consumer
willingness to pay more for such products.
Despite the growing popularity of the local foods market, there is no established definition of
what constitutes a “local food.”11 There is also no consensus about what primary factors would
need to be considered if one were to construct a definition of what constitutes a “local food.”

9 Wuyang Hu, et al., “What Is Local and For What Foods Does It Matter,” paper presented at the Southern Agricultural
Economics Association annual Meeting in Orlando Florida, February 6-9, 2010.
10 USDA, “A Time to Act,” National Commission on Small Farms report and recommendations, July 2009,
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/ag_systems/in_focus/smallfarms_if_time.html.
11 See, for example, S. Martinez et al., Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues, ERR-97, USDA, ERS, May
2010, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err97/; and R. King, “Theme Overview: Local Food—Perceptions,
(continued...)
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In most cases, local foods refer to foods produced near where they are consumed, based on a
certain geographic proximity (between farmer and consumer) or the number of miles the food
travels from where it is grown to where it is ultimately purchased or consumed by the end user.
Local foods may also refer to the types of marketing channels used between farmers and
consumer. In other cases, however, local foods may invoke certain attributes desired by the
consumers who purchase them, involving certain social or supply-chain characteristics in
producing food, such as supporting small family farms, urban gardens, or farms using sustainable
agriculture practices.12 The latter case also raises questions about how the local food movement
may be used to address a perceived need, such as increasing access to fresh, nutritious foods for
underserved communities, or contributing to rural economic development. The lack of a
universally agreed-upon definition, however, does raise questions about “what is a local food”
and may also provide opportunities for fraud in the marketplace with the sale of foods that are
marketed as “local” when they cannot be determined to be local.13
“Local” Based on Distance Traveled
Though “local” has a geographic connotation, there is no consensus on the distance or number of
miles between production and consumption. USDA reports that, depending on the definition,
distances can vary widely, from 25 miles up to 350 miles from where the “local” food is
produced.14 The single statutory definition for “locally or regionally produced agricultural food
product” in the United States applies to products transported less than 400 miles or within the
state in which they are produced.15 In Canada, fresh fruits and vegetables cannot be labeled as
“local” unless produced within about 31 miles (50 kilometers) of where they are sold.16 Most
state definitions view “local” to mean grown within state borders; however, in some cases “local”
may be defined as food grown within a certain geographic region that might cross state lines.
Definitions based on geographic distance vary depending on the state or region and on whether
the food is fresh or processed, among other factors.17
Most consumers, when they purchase local foods, have been shown to generally believe that their
local purchases are sourced within a much smaller distance from where it is produced—generally
under 100 miles—even though this may not actually be the case.18 Generally, consumers believe
that locally-marketed foods are produced on nearby small farms.
Two recently enacted U.S. federal laws provide different definitions of “local” based on the
geographic distance between food production and sales. These definitions differ in terms of the

(...continued)
Prospects, and Policies,” Choices magazine, Quarter 1, 2010.
12 As discussed later in this report, USDA has identified three pillars of sustainability: profit over the long term;
stewardship of our nation’s land, air and water; and quality of life for farmers, ranchers, and their communities. USDA
SARE, “What Is Sustainable Agriculture?” http://www.sare.org/.
13 See, for example: “States on Lookout for Local Produce That Isn’t,” The Packer, June 29, 2010.
14 M. Hand, “Local Food Systems: Emerging Research and Policy Issues,” USDA conference, June 26, 2009.
15 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246, § 6015. This definition applies to eligibility under a
USDA’s Business and Industry loan program, but has also been applied by USDA to other programs in cases where a
specific statutory definition has not been defined.
16 Canadian Food Inspection Agency, “ ‘Local’ Claim on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables,” http://www.inspection.gc.ca.
17 C. Durham, et al., “Consumer Definitions of ‘Locally Grown’ for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables,” Journal of Food
Distribution Research, vol. 40, no. 1, March 2009.
18 Wuyang Hu, et al., “What Is Local and For What Foods Does It Matter.”
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number of miles the food may be transported, but both require that food be sold within the state
where it is produced to be considered local. The 2008 farm bill (as noted above) defined the term
“locally or regionally produced agricultural food product,” as it pertains to eligibility under a
USDA loan program, to mean “any agricultural food product that is raised, produced, and
distributed in ... the locality or region in which the final product is marketed, so that the total
distance that the product is transported is less than 400 miles from the origin of the product”; or
“any agricultural food product that is raised, produced, and distributed in ... the State in which the
product is produced.”19 Alternatively, food safety legislation enacted in 2010 defined a “qualified
enduser”—for the purposes of exempting smaller, local producers from regulation—as ‘‘the
consumer of the food; or ... a restaurant or retail food establishment ... that is located ... in the
same State as the farm that produced the food; or ... not more than 275 miles from such farm.”20
Elsewhere within USDA and other federal agencies, there are many examples of very specific
statutory definitions for “farms” and “food facilities” that govern a range of programs and
policies.21 These definitions generally do not differentiate between the types of farms and food
facilities based on the operation’s various production practices, size, locality, or distance between
production area and markets, among other types of producer- or consumer-driven attributes.
“Local” Based on Marketing Outlet
Another measure of “local food” is based on the types of marketing channels used by farmers to
distribute food from the farm to the consumer.22 USDA data are based on surveyed farm
information of sales by selected marketing channels, including direct-to-consumer outlets and
intermediated outlets. Direct-to-consumer marketing outlets include roadside stands, on-farm
stores, farmers’ markets, and CSAs. Intermediated outlets include grocers and restaurants, and
regional distributors.23 By value, the leading products that are directly marketed to consumers are
nursery and greenhouse products; fruits and vegetables, and livestock and dairy products.24
Across all farms, local foods marketed through all channels totaled about $4.8 billion in 2008. Of
this total, 18% (about $0.9 billion) was marketed through direct-to-consumer marketing outlets
only, 57% (about $2.7 billion) was marketed through intermediated marketing outlets only, and
another 25% (about $1.2 billion) was marketed through both types (Figure 1; Table 1). Farms
with local food sales reported using 160,800 marketing channels to sell local food. The majority
(75%) of these outlets were comprised of direct-to-consumer marketing outlets (such as farmers’
markets, roadside stands, on-farm stores, and CSAs). Intermediated outlets (such as grocers and
restaurants, and regional distributors) accounted for about 25% of all marketing channels used to
sell local food (Table 1). Some differences reflect operation size based on the farm’s annual sales.

19 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246, § 6015. Italics added for emphasis.
20 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, P.L. 111-353, § 105. Italics added for emphasis.
21 See, for example, CRS Report RL34612, Food Safety on the Farm.
22 M. Hand and S. Martinez, “Just What Does Local Mean?” Choices magazine, Quarter 1, 2010; and S. Low and S.
Vogel, Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States.
23 Despite common perception, farmers’ markets do not dominate direct farms sales (L. Lev and L. Gwin, “Filling in
the Gaps: Eight Things to Recognize about Farm-Direct Marketing,” Choices magazine, Quarter 1, 2010).
24 USDA, “Direct Marketing Survey 2009,” October 2010.
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Table 1. Marketing Channels Used by Local Food Sales Farms, by Farm Size
Small
Medium
Large
(sales less
(sales of
(sales of
than
$50,000-
$250,000 or
Sales Channels
$50,000)
$249,999)
more) Total
Number of Farms with Local Food Sales
86,728
15,202
5,301
107,229
Share of Farms, by size category
5.3%
5.1%
2.5%
5.0%
Share of Al Farms, with local sales
80.9%
14.2%
4.9%
100%





Local Food Sales:




Marketed Through All Channels
11.1%
19.1%
69.8%
$4.8 billion
Direct-to-Consumer Outlets Only
33.7%
38.9%
27.4%
$0.9 billion
Intermediated Marketing Channels Only
3.5%
3.6%
92.9%
$2.7 billion
Both Marketing Channels
11.7%
39.5%
48.8%
$1.2 billion





Number of Local Food Sales Outlets Used
121,198
15,202
5,301
160,795
By Marketing Outlet (percent):
100%
100%
100%
100%
Direct-to-Consumer Outlets
78.0%
70.7%
55.5%
75.3%
Roadside Stands
34.1%
24.9%
23.7%
31.8%
Farmers’ Markets
34.6%
25.9%
14.7%
31.8%
On-Farm Stores
8.3%
17.4%
15.7%
10.4%
CSAs 1.1%
2.5%
1.4%
1.3%
Intermediated Outlets
22.0%
29.3%
45.0%
24.7%
Grocers and Restaurants
17.2%
26.0%
23.7%
19.2%
Regional Distributors
4.8%
3.4%
21.4%
5.5%
Source: S. Low and S. Vogel, Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States. 2008 data.
Data are as reported by USDA, although subtotals may not add up in all cases.
Notes: USDA definitions of “direct-to-consumer” marketing and “direct sales” to consumers are not strictly
equivalent: direct-to-consumer sales are defined as the value of agricultural products sold directly to individuals
for human consumption (for example, from roadside stands, farmers’ markets, and U-pick sites), but exclude
agricultural products sold through their own processing and marketing operations (such as catalog or internet
sales) and nonedible products (which may be included as part of “direct” sales).
Most farms (81%) engaged in direct-to-consumer sales are “small” farms, with annual farm sales
under $50,000, totaling an estimated 86,700 farms in 2008. Other USDA data indicate that among
smaller farms (annual farm sales under $50,000) selling direct-to-consumer, the majority (80%)
of these farms have gross sales under $5,000 per year.25
The leading states with direct-to-consumer marketing sales in 2007 were California, New York,
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oregon, Ohio, Washington, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Texas.26

25 USDA, AMS, Facts on Direct-to-Consumer Food Marketing, May 2009, http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/
getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5076729&acct=wdmgeninfo.
26 USDA, AMS, Facts on Direct-to-Consumer Food Marketing.
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States where direct-to-consumer marketing comprised a large share of the state’s total agricultural
sales were Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey,
Maine, Alaska, New York, and Hawaii. USDA reports that the value of direct-to-consumer food
marketing increased in all U.S. producing regions from 1997 to 2007 (Figure 2 and Figure 4).27
Figure 2. Value of Direct-to-Consumer Food Marketing, by Region (1997-2007)

Source: USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Facts on Direct-to-Consumer Food Marketing, May 2009,
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5076729&acct=wdmgeninfo.
“Local” Based on Perceived Attributes
Myriad other factors influence consumer interest in local food systems. These are mostly based
on consumer perceptions of certain desired social or supply-chain characteristics in producing
“local” foods, such as production by a small family farm, an urban farm or garden, or a farm
using sustainable agriculture practices. Many of these factors dovetail into some of the other
reasons influencing growing demand for local foods. (As discussed in the text box on the
following page, marketing of local foods differs from so-called geographical indications, which
are also used to market agricultural products.)
Among the reasons cited for the increasing popularity of local foods are perceived higher product
quality and freshness of local food; a desire to provide social and political support for local
farmers and the local economy; farmland preservation; concerns about environmental impacts
and energy use and the perception that local foods are more environmentally friendly (limited use
of chemicals, energy-based fertilizers, and pesticides); perceived better food safety given shorter

27 Ibid. Other resources are at Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC), “Direct Marketing,”
http://www.agmrc.org/business_development/operating_a_business/direct_marketing/direct_marketing.cfm.
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supply chains; sense of social justice (perceived fairer labor prices and fair price for farmers);
knowing the source of the product; a commitment to establishing closer connections between
consumers and agricultural producers; and, generally, a response to concerns about industrialized
commercial agriculture.28 Important features include knowledge that production and distribution
occur within a specific region, and that consumers are informed about the local nature of
products, in some cases through personal communication with the farmers. Regardless of the
distance the food travels from the production area to the consumer, many of these factors
inherently influence consumer demand for products marketed and perceived to be “local.” A
desire to support farms using sustainable agriculture practices is often claimed as a motivation
driving demand for local foods. However, just as there exists no definitive definition of “local”
foods, much debate exists about what constitutes “sustainable agriculture.” USDA’s Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has identified three pillars of sustainability:
profit over the long term; stewardship of our nation’s land, air, and water; and quality of life for
farmers, ranchers, and their communities.29 Another widely used definition also integrates three
main goals—environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity.30
A desire to support nearby small and medium-sized farms is also a motivation for consumers.
USDA reports that small farms rely more on direct-to-consumer marketing channels (farmers’
markets, on-farm sales, roadside stands, CSAs, etc.) as compared to larger farms. At small-sized
farms (defined as farms with sales of less than $50,000), 88% of all sales are through direct-to-
consumer channels, with 22% of sales made through intermediated market channels, including
grocers, restaurants, and regional distributors (Figure 3). This compares with larger farms (sales
of more than $250,000), where 40% of all sales were through intermediated channels. Consumer
support could potentially help small businesses address some of the perceived challenges for
marketing locally sourced foods. For example, USDA and others report that business barriers to
market entry and expansion in local food markets include capacity constraints for small farms;
lack of distribution systems for moving local food into mainstream markets; lack of resources for
capital and infrastructure investments; and limited research, education, and training for marketing
local food.31 Other challenges facing producers include access to processing and packaging
services; delivery procedures; consistency (volume and quality); uncertainties related to
regulations that may affect local food production, such as food safety requirements; and need for
traceback of foods to their origin. A 2011 study focused on beginning farmers cites challenges
including lack of capital and access to credit and land, and cites as “valuable” programs such as
apprenticeships, local partnerships, and CSAs.32

28 For example, S. Martinez, “Varied Interests Drive Growing Popularity of Local Foods,” Amber Waves, USDA ERS,
December 2010; S. Martinez et al., Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues; Jennifer Jensen, “Local and
Regional Food Systems for Rural Futures,” Rural Policy Research Institute, November 2010; and Marne Coit,
“Jumping on the Next Bandwagon: An Overview of the Policy and Legal Aspects of the Local Food Movement,”
National Agricultural Law Center, University of Arkansas School of Law, February 2009.
29 USDA SARE, “What Is Sustainable Agriculture?” http://www.sare.org/.
30 University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC-SAREP), “What is
Sustainable Agriculture?” http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm.
31 See, for example: S. Martinez, et al., Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues; American Farmland Trust,
Think Globally, Eat Locally: San Francisco Foodshed Assessment, 2008; L. Day-Farnsworth, et al., “Scaling Up:
Meeting the Demand for Local Food,” December 2009; and R. King, “Can Local Go Mainstream?” C-FARE webinar,
April 12, 2011.
32 National Young Farmer’s Coalition, Building a Future With Farmers: Challenges Faced by Young, American
Farmers and a National Strategy to Help Them Succeed, November 2011, http://www.youngfarmers.org/reports/
Building_A_Future_With_Farmers.pdf.
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Geographical Indications
Demand for local foods is general y driven by a product’s perceived quality and reputation, among other desired
attributes, often associated with where or how the product is produced. In this way local foods may be viewed as
similar to foods carrying geographical indications (GIs); however, GIs are often more strictly defined and also may be
registered under administrative trademark structures governed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
“Geographical indications" (GI) refers to place names (or in some countries words associated with a place) used to
identify the origin and quality, reputation or other characteristics of products. Like trademarks, GIs are source-
identifiers; guarantees of quality; and valuable business interests. Specific examples of geographical indications from
the United States include "Florida” oranges; "Idaho" potatoes; and "Washington State" apples. Other examples include
spirits such as “Champagne” and “Tequila,” or “Roquefort” cheese.
Within the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO), GIs are defined in Article 22(1) of the WTO’s Trade
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement as “indications which identify a good as originating
in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other
characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin.” GIs were first negotiated in the WTO as
part of the 1986-1994 Uruguay Round, which introduced intellectual property rules into the multilateral trading
system.
GIs protect consumers from deceptive or misleading labels, and provide consumers with choices among products and
with information on which to base their choices. Producers benefit because GIs give them recognition for the
distinctiveness of their products in the market. Agricultural producers are increasingly recognizing that GIs serve as
commercially valuable marketing tools within the global economy, similar to other forms of intellectual property. As
intellectual property, GIs are eligible for relief from acts of infringement and/or unfair competition. The use of
geographical indications for wines and cheese products particularly—which some countries consider to be protected
intel ectual property, and others consider to be generic or semi-generic terms—has become a contentious
international trade issue.
For additional background information, see PTO, “Geographical Indications (GI) Protection,” http://www.uspto.gov/ip/
global/geographical/protection/index.jsp; WTO, “TRIPS: Geographical Indications” (http://www.wto.org/english/
tratop_e/trips_e/gi_background_e.htm); and CRS Report RS21569, Geographical Indications and WTO Negotiations.

Some groups also advocate an increased role for local food systems to help address perceived
concerns about lack of consumer access to healthy, nutritious foods within certain low-income or
underserved communities, such as in “food deserts.” The 2008 farm bill defined a “food desert”
as an “area in the United States with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly
such an area composed of predominantly lower-income neighborhoods and communities.”33 The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) further clarified these areas as lacking “access
to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, and other foods that make up the full
range of a healthy diet.”34 A 2009 USDA report to Congress reported that of all U.S. households,
2.3 million households (2%) live more than 1 mile from a supermarket and do not have access to
a vehicle; and an additional 3.4 million households (3%) live between one-half and 1 mile away
and do not have access to a vehicle.35 Other USDA data show where food deserts are located in
the United States based on indicators of access and proximity to grocery stores, such as the share
of residents that are low-income households without a car that live a certain distance from a
supermarket or large grocery store.36

33 P.L. 110-246, Title VI, § 7527.
34 CDC, “Food Deserts,” http://www.cdc.gov/features/fooddeserts/.
35 USDA, ERS, Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their
Consequences, Report to Congress, April 2009, http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/AP/AP036/AP036.pdf.
36 USDA, ERS, “Food Desert Locator,” http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert/fooddesert.html. For mapping
purposes, a food desert is defined as a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has
low access to a supermarket or large grocery store. A “low-income community” has either: (1) a poverty rate of 20% or
(continued...)
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Figure 3. Reliance on Direct-to-Consumer Marketing
(smal versus larger farms, share of annual sales)

Source: : S. Low and S. Vogel, “Local Foods Marketing Channels Encompass a Wide Range of Producers,”
Amber Waves, December 2011.
Policy options identified to address food deserts include offering incentives (such as tax credits)
to attract grocery stores to urban and rural communities; developing other retail outlets, such as
farmers’ markets, public markets, cooperatives, farm stands, CSAs, and mobile vendors;
improving transportation and distribution networks; increasing stocks of fresh foods at
neighborhood stores; and encouraging growing food locally through backyard and community
gardens, as well as urban farms.37
Among the types of benefits cited by advocates of local food systems are increased and more
stable farm incomes; increased jobs and wealth retention in local economies; improved access to
fresh produce; enhanced accountability and choice; reduced vulnerability to contamination and
food safety concerns, given the smaller distribution range of foods; diversified and sustainable
production; and reduced energy use from reduced transportation (fewer “food miles”) and
reduced contributions to climate change.38 Some of these claimed benefits have been disputed. In
addition to raising questions about the general assumption that “local” is inherently good, other

(...continued)
higher, or (2) a median family income at or below 80% of the area’s median family income. A “low-access
community” has at least 500 people and/or at least 33% of the census tract’s population must reside more than one mile
from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles). Information on
USDA’s dataset is at http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert/about.html.
37 The Food Trust, “The Grocery Gap: Who Has Access to Healthy Food and Why It Matters,” 2010.
38 See, for example, M. Anderson, “The Case for Local and Regional Food Marketing. Issue Brief for Farm & Food
Policy Project,” 2007, http://www.farmandfoodproject.org.
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criticisms leveled against “local” include lowered productivity and inefficient use of resources in
food production; questions about ecological sustainability and community effects; and concerns
about food quality and food safety.39 USDA reported that few academic studies demonstrate how
local food markets may affect the economic development, health, or environmental quality of
communities. Results from these limited available studies have indicated that expanding local
food systems in a community can increase employment and income in that community; however,
evidence is insufficient to determine whether local food availability improves diet quality or food
security or whether localized production results in a reduction of overall energy use or in
greenhouse gas emissions.40
Types of Businesses and Operations
Data and information are available on the types of businesses engaged in local food systems,
including farms that sell direct-to-consumer through farmers’ markets, roadside stands, on-farm
stores, CSAs, or other types of on-farm sales such as Internet or mail order sales, pick-your-own
or “U-Pick” operations, and also agritourism or other types of on-farm recreational activities.41
Other forms of local food markets may include foods produced in community gardens or school
gardens, urban farms (and rooftop farms and gardens), community kitchens, or small-scale food
processing and decentralized root cellars. Following is a review of some of these types of direct-
to-consumer marketing and other forms of local operations. Products sold through these outlets
may include fresh foods, processed foods (such as honey, syrups, beef jerky, and homemade
jellies, jams, and pickled products), and certain non-edible products such as nursery crops, cut
flowers, and wool and other fiber products.
Locally produced foods may also pass through an intermediary, such as a restaurant, government
institution, grocery store, or other retail channel. Food sales to farm-to-school programs may be
direct from the farm or through an intermediary. Food hubs and market aggregators, along with
kitchen incubators and mobile slaughter units, may be employed in distribution and/or processing
within these marketing channels. Some of these types of food outlets are also reviewed.
Farmers’ Markets
Farmers’ markets are among several forms of direct farmer marketing, which also include farm
and roadside stands, CSAs, pick-your-own farms, and direct sales to schools. Nearly 7,200
farmers’ markets operated in 2011, up from about 6,100 in 2010, 2,800 in 1998, and 1,800
markets in 1994.42 In 2010, states with the most farmers’ markets were California (580), New
York (461), Illinois (286), Michigan (271), Iowa (229), Massachusetts (227), Ohio (213),
Wisconsin (204), Pennsylvania (203), and North Carolina (182).43 Figure 5 shows the number of

39 See, for example, Brandon Born and Mark Purcell, “Avoiding the Local Trap,” Journal of Planning Education and
Research, 26: 195-207, 2006.
40 S. Martinez, et al., Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues.
41 S. Martinez, et al., Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues; and Cornell University, “Discovering the
Food System, A Primer on Community Food Systems: Linking Food, Nutrition and Agriculture.” For information on
agritourism, see D. Brown and R. Reeder, “Agritourism Offers Opportunities for Farm Operators,” Amber Waves,
February 2008; and USDA’s fact sheet, “Agricultural Diversification,” http://www.agcensus.usda.gov.
42 USDA, AMS, “Farmers’ Market Growth: 1994-2011.” Reflects updated USDA data.
43 USDA, AMS, “USDA Announces That National Farmers’ Market Directory Totals 6,132 Farmers’ Markets.” USDA
National Farmers’ Market Directory is at http://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets.
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farmers’ markets, by county, in 2010.44 Of the total, an estimated 1,225 farmers’ markets operate
during winter, mostly in New York, California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Maryland,
and Florida.45 USDA reported that total farmers’ market sales were estimated to have exceeded $1
billion in 2005.46 Products sold at farmers’ markets include conventionally produced farm
products and so-called natural and locally labeled products, as well as organically certified
products47 and other specially labeled products such as hormone- or antibiotic-free and free-range
animal products.
Figure 4. Direct Sales
Figure 5. Farmers’ Markets


Source: CRS using USDA 2007 Census data.
Source: CRS using USDA data for 2010.
USDA reported an average of 31 vendors per market in 2005, suggesting that perhaps more than
120,000 farmers were selling at farmers’ markets.48 Previous estimates from USDA reported that
66,700 farmers were selling at farmers’ markets, many of whom relied on such markets as their
sole outlet.49 USDA programs supporting farmers’ markets are highlighted in Table 2 and
discussed in more detail in the Appendix of this report.
Farm-to-School Programs
Farm-to-school programs broadly refer to “efforts to serve regionally and locally produced food
in school cafeterias,” with a focus on enhancing child nutrition and provide healthier meals as
part of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and other child nutrition programs.50 The

44 Original data are at USDA, http://ers.usda.gov/foodatlas/downloadData.htm.
45 “Winter Farmers’ Markets Expand to More than 1,200 Locations,” Agri-Pulse, December 16, 2011.
46 USDA, AMS, National Farmers’ Market Manager Survey, May 2009, http://www.farmersmarketsurvey.com/.
47 Only a small percentage of certified organic products are direct marketed, according to studies cited by L. Lev and L.
Gwin, “Filling in the Gaps: Eight Things to Recognize about Farm-Direct Marketing.”
48 USDA, AMS, National Farmers’ Market Manager Survey.
49 USDA, AMS, U.S. Farmers’ Markets 2000: A Study of Emerging Trends, May 2002.
50 USDA, National Agriculture Library’s (NAL) Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC), “Farm to
School,” http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/srb1102.shtml. Child nutrition programs typically include the National
School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service
Program, Special Milk Program, and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
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goals of these efforts include increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among students,
supporting local farmers and rural communities, and providing nutrition and agriculture education
to school districts and farmers.51 School garden programs also build on this concept. Among the
other goals of farm-to-school programs are those highlighted by the National Farm to School
Network: “connect schools (K-12) and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in
school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition
education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers.”52 USDA’s broader agency
activities may also include other farm-to-institution activities involving hospitals or correctional
facilities. USDA programs supporting farm-to-school programs are highlighted in Table 2 and are
discussed in more detail in the Appendix of this report.
USDA began its efforts “to connect farms to the school meal programs” in the late 1990s, as part
of pilot projects in California and Florida, followed by other agency-wide initiatives in the early
2000s.53 These efforts were reinforced by Congress as part of subsequent reauthorizations of child
nutrition legislation, including the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296).54 In
2010, more than 2,000 farm-to-school programs spanned all 50 states, using local farms as food
suppliers for school meals programs.55 This compares to an initial two programs in the 1996-1997
school year, and an estimated 400 in 2004 and 1,000 in 2007. About 14% of school districts
participated in farm-to-school programs in 2005, and 16% have guidelines for purchasing locally
grown produce.56 USDA’s website provides information on national and regional farm-to-school
programs and other resource guides.57
Figure 6 shows the number of farm-to-school program, by county, in 2009.58 According to the
National Farm to School Network, states with the greatest number of schools participating in
farm-to-school programs are North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
California, Florida, and Vermont.
Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA)
CSAs provide a way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. CSAs
“directly link local residents and nearby farmers, eliminating ‘the middleman’ and increasing the
benefits to both the farmer and the consumer.”59 In a CSA, a farmer or community garden grows
food for a group of local residents—members, shareholders, or subscribers—who pledge support

51 USDA, FNS, “Farm to School,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/f2s/about.htm#Initiative.
52 National Farm to School Network, http://www.farmtoschool.org/aboutus.php. See also B. Bellows, et al., “Bringing
Local Food to Local Institutions,” NCAT publication, IP242, October 2003; and UC-SAREP, “Direct Marketing to
Schools,” July 2002, http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/CDPP/directmarketingtoschool.htm.
53 AFSIC, “Farm to School,” http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/srb1102.shtml; and National Farm to School
Network, “Farm to School Chronology,” http://www.farmtoschool.org/files/F2SChronology3.09.pdf
54 For more detailed information on these programs, see CRS Report R41354, Child Nutrition and WIC
Reauthorization: Issues and Legislation in the 111th Congress.
55 See National Farm to School Network, http://www.farmtoschool.org/aboutus.php.
56 Information from the National Farm to School Network data and USDA-sponsored School Nutrition and Dietary
Assessment Survey, as cited in S. Martinez, et al., Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues.
57 AFSIC, “Farm to School,” and Farm to School Network, http://www.farmtoschool.org/files/publications_277.pdf.
58 Original data are at USDA, http://ers.usda.gov/foodatlas/downloadData.htm.
59 USDA, “Community Supported Agriculture,” http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/CDP-TN20.PDF. Also see AFSIC,
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml and http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csadef.shtml.
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to a farm at the beginning of each year by agreeing to cover the farm’s expected costs and risks.
In return, the members receive shares of the farm’s production during the growing season. The
farmers receive an initial cash investment to finance their operation as well as a higher sales
percentage because the crop is marketed and delivered directly to the consumer. The CSA model
was first developed in Japan in the 1960s (known as “teikei,” or “food with the farmer’s face on
it”), and was widely adopted in Europe in the 1970s.60
Figure 6. Farm-to-School Programs
Figure 7. Community-Supported Agriculture


Source: CRS using 2009 USDA data.
Source: CRS using USDA 2007 Census data.
More than 1,400 CSAs were in operation in the United States in 2010.61 The first U.S. CSA
started in 1985 at Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts. By 2001 an estimated 400 CSAs were in
operation, rising to 1,144 CSAs in 2005. USDA estimates that 12,549 farms marketed products
through a CSA in 2007.62 Overall, compared to a total of about 2 million farms, farms that sell
through CSAs comprise less than 1% of all U.S. farming operations. California (950), Texas
(880), and Kentucky (540) are the leading states with farms that sold through a CSA in 2007.
Other states with more than 400 farms selling through CSAs include Iowa, Michigan, Missouri,
Washington, Wisconsin, Ohio, and North Carolina.63 USDA’s website provides a listing of
national, state, and regional organizations related to CSAs.64 Figure 7 shows the number of farms
with CSA sales, by state, in 2007.
Community Gardens and School Gardens
The American Community Garden Association (ACGA) defines a community garden as “any
piece of land gardened by a group of people,” whether it is in an urban, suburban, or rural area, or

60 USDA, “Community Supported Agriculture.”
61 Information from the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), cited in S. Martinez, et al., Local Food
Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues.
62 USDA, 2007 Agriculture Census, Table 44 (“Selected Practices”). Data on marketed volumes is not available.
63 USDA, 2007 Agriculture Census, Table 44 (“Selected Practices”).
64 See USDA, “Organizations,” http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csaorgs.shtml. Also see Agricultural Marketing
Resource Center, http://www.agmrc.org/markets__industries/food/community_supported_agriculture.cfm.
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whether it grows food, such as vegetables, or flowers and other horticultural products. It may be
composed of a single community plot, or can be a collection of many individual plots. These
gardens may be located at a school, hospital, or in a neighborhood, or may be dedicated to “urban
agriculture” in a city-like setting where the produce is grown often for sale at market.65 An
estimated 18,000 community gardens throughout the United States (Figure 8).66
A precise count of the number of school gardens in the United States is not available; however,
the National Gardening Association’s “School Garden Registry” has information on several
thousand school gardens across the nation (searchable by city, state, or name).67 Other reports
indicate that California alone had more than 2,000 school gardens in 2007.68
The National Gardening Association (NGA) estimates that about 36 million households (31% of
all U.S. households) participated in food gardening in 2008, of which an estimated 1 million
households were growing food at a community garden.69 Community gardens have been
establishing linkages with urban farming efforts and with efforts to increase access to fresh foods
within some low-income and underserved communities (or “food deserts”).
Figure 8. Community Gardens

Source: ACGA, http://acga.localharvest.org/. Data not available for Alaska and Hawaii.
The history of community gardens goes back more than 100 years, starting with subsistence
vegetable farming on vacant lots in Detroit in the early 1900s and encompassing “Liberty
Gardens” and “Victory Gardens” during the first and second World Wars, among other urban

65 ACGA, “What Is a Community Garden?” http://www.communitygarden.org/learn/. Web-based locators are available
at the NGA, http://www.garden.org/public_gardens; also http://acga.localharvest.org/. Also see AFSIC, “Community
Gardening,” http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/; NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Project, “Urban and Community
Agriculture,” http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/local_food/urban_ag.html; and K. Adam, “Community Garden,” NCAT
publication, IP376, January 2011.
66 ACGA, “FAQs,” http://communitygarden.org/learn/faq.php.
67 NGA, “School Garden Search,” http://www.kidsgardening.org/groups/school-garden-search.
68 E. Ozer, “The Effects of School Gardens on Students and School: Conceptualization and Considerations for
Maximizing Healthy Development,” Health Education & Behavior, Vol. 34 (6): 846-863), December 2007.
69 NGA, “The Impact of Home and Community Gardening In America,” 2009. Food gardening includes growing
vegetables, fruit, berries, and herbs.
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gardening movements over the period.70 Despite initial concerns by USDA that Victory Gardens
were an inefficient use of available resources, during WWII the agency encouraged nearly 20
million home gardeners to plant food. By the end of the war, home gardeners were producing a
reported 40% of the nations’ produce. Today, in addition to gardens that grow produce for
personal consumption, some “market gardens” also grow produce for sale or for donation, and are
part of a growing interest in urban agriculture—both farms and gardens. Resources available to
households that want to grow their own food include benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), which lists among eligible food items “seeds
and plants which produce food for the household to eat.”71
Many school gardens are said to be based on a model developed in the mid-1990s as part of the
Edible Schoolyard Project, largely attributed to the efforts of Berkeley, CA, restaurant owner
Alice Waters.72 School gardens are now being integrated into some educational curricula to
provide nutrition and science education while teaching children about plants and nature, and the
importance of eating healthy, nutritious foods. A number of nonprofit organizations support
school gardens and provide resources for classrooms.73 In addition, FoodCorps, an independent
nonprofit organization, places young leaders into limited-resource communities for one year of
public service to work with local partners teaching kids about food and nutrition, engaging them
in school gardens, and supporting local healthy food for public school cafeterias.74 USDA also
recently funded a pilot program to support school gardens in high-poverty schools. For more
information see the Appendix of this report.
Food Hubs and Market Aggregators
A food hub refers to a warehouse or similar facility that aggregates food and facilitates sales to
wholesale customers or directly to consumers.75 A produce packing house may also act as an
aggregation facility that prepares and receives raw fruits and vegetables from farmers. Such
aggregation points allow for “scaling up” of agricultural production from the farm to the
marketplace, linking farmers to consumers. Ideally, they are located near the farms they serve to
better help farmers scale up and connect with consumers, wholesalers, retailers and grocery
stores, restaurants, and food-service buyers such as schools or hospitals. (In addition, some states
also have their own state-branded systems that may be accessible through their own online
directory.) Most aggregators provide an online directory or virtual marketplace to link buyers and
sellers. Many also provide assistance to participate in farm-to-school programs and other types of
services, including agritourism. In some cases, a range of educational services, technical

70 “History of Urban Agriculture,” http://sidewalksprouts.wordpress.com/history/; USDA, “Victory Garden Leader’s
Handbook,” 1943; and Pennsylvania State Council of Defense, “Handbook of the Victory Garden Committee War
Services,” April 1944.
71 USDA, “SNAP: Eligible Food Items,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/eligible.htm. Congress added this
provision in the 1970s. See SNAPgardens.org, “History,” http://www.snapgardens.org/history/.
72 See Edible Schoolyard Project, http://edibleschoolyard.org/berkeley/about-us.
73 A list of resources and organizations is available from Civil Eats (see “School Gardens Across the Nation, and a
Resource List for Starting Your Own,” at http://civileats.com/2010/01/19/school-gardens-across-the-nation/).
74 FoodCorps, “FoodCorps Launches National Service Program,” August 15, 2011, http://www.foodcorps.org. Host
sites include Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina,
Oregon.
75 FamilyFarmed.org, “The Business of Food Hubs: Planning Successful Regional Produce Aggregation Facilities,”
September 30, 2010, webinar (http://www.ngfn.org/resources/ngfn-cluster-calls/the-business-of-food-hubs).
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assistance, and outreach are provided, intended to advance agricultural entrepreneurship.
Examples include on-the-ground farmer training, aggregation and distribution, capacity-building,
curriculum development, and help with food safety certification, usually through linkages with
state extension and university staff.76
USDA estimates that more than 100 food hubs operate in the United States, with large clusters
located in the Midwest and Northeast.77 One example is MarketMaker, an interactive database of
food industry marketing and business data, which is intended to link food-producing farmers with
buyers in the marketplace. The database contains more than half a million businesses, including
more than 2,500 farmers’ markets and nearly 1,000 agritourism businesses, as well as farmers,
processors, wholesalers, buyers, and retailers. It spans 18 participating states78 and the District of
Columbia and covers nearly 900 general product categories. Based on information from the
directory’s expanded user profiles, up to 47% of those participating are farmers. A large share of
those are fruit and vegetable growers. Other product categories include meat, fish, seafood, dairy
products, wineries, and a range of specialty products. MarketMaker started in 2004 as a national
partnership of land grant institutions and state departments of agriculture, and is maintained by
University of Illinois.79 It was initially funded through grants from the Illinois Council on Food
and Agricultural Research (CFAR), a state-based grant program, and continues to be maintained
through appropriated USDA research funding and various state-level resources.
Another regional aggregator is FoodHub, an online directory linking food buyers and sellers for a
range of food products.80 It also provides a forum for users to post food products and/or services
that they wish to sell or buy, and covers more than 3,000 products. It currently has more than
2,500 members and operates in six states: Alaska, California, Idaho, and Montana, but mostly in
Oregon and Washington State. Its membership consists of buyers (40%), sellers (38%), associates
(19%), and distributors (3%). The site is intended to be both scale and production system-neutral,
and is open to commercial buyers, independent producers, regional distributors, industry
suppliers, farmers’ markets, trade associations, nonprofits, and the media. FoodHub was initially
started with funding from two USDA programs, the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the
Rural Business Enterprise Grant, and is supported by member fees. FoodHub provides additional
resources and support for farm-to-school and farm-to-hospital programs as well as for school
gardens and food banks, including guidance on getting started, finding funding, developing
menus, and applying for grants. In 2010, FoodHub had more than 20 K-12 schools participating,
including the Portland public school system, serving 20,000 meals per day.
Kitchen Incubators and Mobile Slaughter Units
A kitchen incubator (also culinary incubator, including shared-use commercial kitchens) refers to
a business that provides food preparation facilities to help a small start-up or home-based

76 CRS communication with University of Illinois staff, September 15, 2011. An example includes the University of
Kentucky’s “MarketReady” training program, which helps small farmers and ranchers address the market development
risks and relationship management as they develop relationships with buyers (http://www.uky.edu/fsic/marketready/).
77 USDA, “USDA Identifies Infrastructure and Economic Opportunities for Regional Producers,” Release No. 0170.11,
April 19, 2011.
78 Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi,
Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas.
79 MarketMaker, http://national.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/.
80 FoodHub is a project of the nonprofit Ecotrust (http://food-hub.org/).
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business produce a food product.81 A kitchen incubator is often a fixed-location small food
processing facility, serving as a resource for a new business (such as an early-stage catering, retail
or wholesale food business) that may not have the capital to invest in its own full-time licensed
commercial kitchen. Instead, the new business is able to rent shared space in a fully licensed
commercial kitchen, which also helps it comply with federal and state food safety laws and
requirements. There are reportedly more than 100 kitchen incubators nationwide.82 The types of
businesses that use kitchen incubators include start-up or home-based food producers, caterers,
bakers, street vendors, and makers of specialty food items, such as condiments and candies, and
also in some cases established food businesses.
Mobile (also modular) slaughter units (MSUs) refer to a self-contained USDA-inspected
slaughter and meat processing facility that can travel from site to site and can be used by small-
scale meat producers who may not have resources to transport animals to a distant slaughterhouse
(often referred to using the French term, abattoir) or who may want to sell locally raised meat
directly to local consumers or restaurants. MSUs provide a trained and licensed workforce, and
are required to comply with necessary food safety, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management
requirements. MSUs were also a response to increased consolidation in the meat and poultry
industries, resulting in fewer slaughter facilities and a lack of USDA- or state-inspected
establishments “available to small producers of livestock and poultry in some remote or sparsely
populated areas.”83 MSUs are able to serve multiple small producers in areas where slaughter
services might be unaffordable or unavailable. One of the first mobile USDA-inspected slaughter
units started operation in the early 2000s in Washington State.84
Federal Programs and Initiatives
Following is a discussion of the existing federal programs administered by USDA and other
agencies that potentially can support local food systems, as well as some of the Obama
Administration’s initiatives intended to support local food systems. Data are not available to
determine the extent to which local producers and local food system providers are actively
participating in these programs. A more comprehensive table and description of existing programs
is included in the Appendix at the end of this report.
Selected USDA Programs
Many existing USDA assistance programs are available to all U.S. farmers, regardless of farm
size or distance from markets. Federal programs that provide support to all U.S. producers—
including local producers—cover a wide range of USDA programs contained within various titles

81 Culinary Incubator, “8 Things to Consider when Considering a Culinary Incubator,” http://www.culinaryincubator.
com/tenant_information_kitchen_rental.php. Also USDA, “Agriculture Deputy Secretary Celebrates Opening of a
Non-Profit Pennsylvania Kitchen for Use by Food Entrepreneurs,” Release No. 0260.11, June 17, 2011; National
Business Incubation Association (http://www.nbia.org/). Includes early-stage catering, retail and wholesale food
businesses. Differs from a community kitchen, where people share a common kitchen to prepare one food to share.
82 See databases at http://www.culinaryincubator.com/maps.php.
83 USDA, “Mobile Slaughter Unit Compliance Guide,” http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Compliance_Guide_Mobile_
Slaughter.pdf; and USDA, “Slaughter Availability to Small Livestock and poultry Producers—Maps,” May 4, 2010,
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/KYF_maps-050410_FOR_RELEASE.pdf.
84 MSU, “State of the Art Mobile Processing Unit for Small Scale Producers,” http://www.mobileslaughter.com/.
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of the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246) and the most recent reauthorization of the child nutrition
programs (P.L. 111-296).85 In the 2008 farm bill, an array of farm assistance programs that might
be considered to support local food systems are contained within several titles: conservation (Title
II); nutrition (Title IV); farm credit (Title V); research (Title VI); rural development (Title VII);
horticulture (Title X); and disaster assistance (Title XII). (See selected 2008 farm bill titles in text
box.) The 2010 child nutrition reauthorization includes additional food nutrition programs that
might also be considered to support local food systems.
Within each farm bill title are many individual programs. Many of these are also highlighted by
the Obama Administration as part of its “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Initiative
(discussed later). Among the USDA programs available for leveraging local and regional food
production systems are:
• Marketing and promotion programs, such as the Specialty Crop Block Grant
Program; Farmers’ Market Promotion Program; Farmers’ Market Nutrition
Programs; and Federal State Marketing Improvement Program.
• Business assistance programs, such as Value-Added Producer Grants; Beginning
Farmer and Rancher Development Program; Small Business Innovation
Research; Agricultural Management Assistance; Community Outreach and
Assistance Partnership Program; and Outreach and Assistance to Socially
Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers.
• Rural and community development programs, such as Rural Cooperative
Development Grants; Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loans;
Community Facilities Program; Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG); Rural
Business Opportunity Grant (RBOG); and Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance
Program.
• Research and cooperative extension programs, such as Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education programs.
• Nutrition and education programs, such as USDA’s Farm to School Program,
School Gardens, Commodity Procurement Through “DoD Fresh,” and
Community Food Projects.
Other types of USDA programs not listed here include selected USDA research and cooperative
extension programs, as well as USDA conservation programs, among others (see Table 2). Many
of these programs have been identified by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)
in its Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems.86 These selected programs
are administered by various USDA agencies, including the Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS), Rural Development (RD), Risk Management Agency (RMA), National Institute of Food
and Agriculture (NIFA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS), and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).

85 For information on the omnibus farm bill, see CRS Report RL34696, The 2008 Farm Bill: Major Provisions and
Legislative Action. For information on the child nutrition reauthorization, see CRS Report R41354, Child Nutrition and
WIC Reauthorization: Issues and Legislation in the 111th Congress.
86 NSAC, Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems, April 2010, http://sustainableagriculture.net/
wp-content/uploads/2010/05/NSAC_Food SystemsFundingGuide_FirstEdition_4_2010.pdf.
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The 2008 Farm Bill: Selected Titles and Programs
•
Title I, Commodities: Income support to growers of selected commodities, including wheat, feed grains,
cotton, rice, oilseeds, peanuts, sugar, and dairy. Support is largely through direct payments, counter-cyclical
payments, and marketing loans. Other support mechanisms include government purchases for dairy, and
marketing quotas and import barriers for sugar.
•
Title II, Conservation: Environmental stewardship of farmlands and improved management practices through
land retirement and working lands programs, among other programs geared to farmland conservation,
preservation, and resource protection.
•
Title III, Agricultural Trade and Food Aid: U.S. agricultural export and international food assistance
programs, and program changes related to various World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations.
•
Title IV, Nutrition: Domestic food and nutrition and commodity distribution programs, such as food stamps
and other supplemental nutrition assistance.
•
Title V, Farm Credit: Federal direct and guaranteed farm loan programs, and loan eligibility rules and policies.
•
Title VI, Rural Development: Business and community programs for planning, feasibility assessments, and
coordination activities with other local, state, and federal programs, including rural broadband access.
•
Title VII, Research: Agricultural research and extension programs, including biosecurity and response,
biotechnology, and organic production.
•
Title VIII, Forestry: USDA Forest Service programs, including forestry management, assistance, and
agroforestry programs.
•
Title IX, Energy: Bioenergy programs and grants for procurement of biobased products to support
development of biorefineries and assist eligible farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses in purchasing
renewable energy systems, as wel as user education programs.
•
Title X, Horticulture and Organic Agriculture: A new farm bill title covering fruits, vegetables, and other
specialty crops and organic agriculture.
•
Title XI, Livestock: A new farm bill title covering livestock and poultry production, including provisions that
amend existing laws governing livestock and poultry marketing and competition, country-of-origin labeling
requirements for retailers, and meat and poultry state inspections, among other provisions.
•
Title XII, Crop Insurance and Disaster Assistance: A new farm bill title covering the federal crop
insurance and disaster assistance previously included in the miscellaneous title (not including the supplemental
disaster assistance provisions in the Trade and Tax title).

Many community and rural development groups and small-farm advocacy organizations have
promoted initiatives intended to support the development of local food markets by building on the
existing USDA programs to create new market opportunities for small and medium-sized farms.87
The Appendix to this report provides a brief summary of selected federal programs that may be
considered to provide support to local food systems. This is not a comprehensive listing of all the
possible programs that are administered by each USDA agency, particularly of research and
conservation programs that generally support all U.S. farmers, including producers of local food.
In addition to various federal efforts, a number of states, communities, and other entities have
spearheaded initiatives that support local food systems. This report does not cover these efforts,
since there is limited aggregate information on them.

87 See, for example, NSAC, “Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems,” April 2010.
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Data are not available to determine the share of available funding for the programs in the
Appendix used to support local and regional food systems, compared to all other types of
farming systems. For many of the programs highlighted, most indications suggest that the share
used to support local food systems is likely very small. Among USDA’s farm support programs,
only a few target direct support to local food systems, as discussed in the following section.
Loans for Local Food Producers
The 2008 farm bill amended an existing USDA Rural Development agency loan program—the
Business and Industry (B&I) loan and loan guarantee program—to provide that 5% of the
available funding support local and regional food production. Eligible recipients under the
provision include “individuals, cooperatives, cooperative organizations, businesses, and other
entities to establish and facilitate enterprises that process, distribute, aggregate, store, and market
locally or regionally produced agricultural food products to support community development and
farm and ranch income.”88 The 2008 farm bill defined an eligible “locally or regionally produced
agricultural food product” as “any agricultural food product that is raised, produced, and
distributed in ... the locality or region in which the final product is marketed, so that the total
distance that the product is transported is less than 400 miles from the origin of the product”; or
“any agricultural food product that is raised, produced, and distributed in ... the State in which the
product is produced.”89 With obligations for the B&I loan program averaging more than $1 billion
annually, this means that available funding for loans directed to local and regional food producers
is more than $50 million each year.90 Additional information on the B&I program is in the
Appendix.
Local Food Purchases in Child Nutrition Programs
While specific grant programs may support farm-to-school work, it is possible—within the
framework of procurement law—for schools and child-care institutions to use per-meal cash
reimbursements (from participating in the USDA FNS child nutrition programs) to purchase
foods from local and regional food systems. The 2008 farm bill amended existing child nutrition
programs to include language that would encourage school food authorities to purchase fresh
produce and would require USDA to allow school food authorities receiving child nutrition funds
under programs to use a geographic preference.91 The law requires USDA “to encourage
institutions receiving funds under the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act to
purchase unprocessed agricultural products, both locally grown and locally raised, to the
maximum extent practicable and appropriate.”92 This provision is structured as a preference and
does not require states and school food authorities to include geographic preference in their
procurement. Because geographic preference still operates within the framework of existing
procurement law, schools can face barriers to purchasing when a local product is not the lowest-

88 P.L. 110-246, § 6015 (Locally or Regionally Produced Agricultural Food Products).
89 Ibid.
90 See funding information for CFDA# 10.768 (www.cdfa.gov).
91 P.L. 110-246, § 4302 (Purchases of Locally Produced Foods), amending § 9(j) of the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(j)).
92 Ibid.
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cost bid. USDA has provided guidance, suggesting that applying geographic preference points
may enable a local product to still win a contract.93
In addition to the cash reimbursements that states and schools receive, they also receive federal
assistance in the form of USDA commodity foods.94 The 2008 farm bill revised but retained a
requirement that $50 million per year of commodity procurement funds be used to purchase fresh
fruits and vegetables for schools.95 USDA uses a partnership with the Department of Defense
(DoD) to procure and distribute fresh produce to schools; this program offers fruits and
vegetables labeled as “local” for schools to select.96 More information is in the Appendix.
Grants for Farm-to-School Programs
The 2010 child nutrition reauthorization amended existing child nutrition programs to establish
mandatory funding of $5 million per year for competitive grants that would assist schools and
nonprofit entities in establishing farm-to-school programs that improve a school’s access to
locally produced foods.97 The program has not been implemented yet and is expected to be
administered by FNS starting in the winter of 2012. Grants are not to exceed $100,000 and will
require 75% matching funds. Grants may be used for training, supporting operations, planning,
purchasing equipment, developing school gardens, developing partnerships, and implementing
farm-to-school programs. Additional information is provided in the Appendix.
Other USDA Actions
For FY2010, USDA established by administrative notice that each state must fund at least one
project that supports the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative (discussed
below), as part of the agency’s Rural Housing Service Strategic Plan.98 This notice applied to
available funding for USDA’s Community Facilities programs, which include loans and grants for
water and environmental projects, and community facilities projects.99 The types of eligible
projects include food banks (e.g., certain building purchase, construction, and renovations,
equipment and vehicle purchases); school cafeterias (e.g, certain equipment, renovations, central
processing/distribution centers); farmers’ markets that primarily sell fruits and vegetables (e.g.,
certain new construction, building purchases, and renovations); community gardens (e.g, real

93 See http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Policy-Memos/2011/SP18-2011_os.pdf (see questions 5, 6, and 7).
94 For more information on the purchase of USDA Commodity Foods, see CRS Report RL34081, Farm and Food
Support Under USDA’s Section 32 Program. For information on food distribution to schools, see USDA, FNS
“Frequently Asked Questions” http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/schcnp/schcnp_faqs.htm/.
95 P.L. 110-246, § 4404(c).
96 USDA and DoD websites communicate that the procurement program’s advantages include “greater buying power,
consistent deliveries, emphasis on high quality, a large variety of produce items including pre-cuts and locally grown,
and an easy-to-use ordering website with funds tracking.” USDA-FNS, “DoD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program,”
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/dod/DOD_FreshFruitandVegetableProgram2011.pdf (emphasis added).
97 P.L. 111-296, § 243 (Access to Local Foods: Farm to School Program), amending § 18 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(j)). In addition, appropriations are authorized “such sums as are necessary
for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.”
98 Letter to State Directors, Rural Development, from Tammye Treviño, Administrator, Housing and Community
Facilities Programs, regarding the Community Facilities Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems Projects and
Know Your Farmer Know Your Food Initiative, June 2010.
99 USDA, “Community Facilities Loans and Grants,” http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/HCF_CF.html.
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estate purchases, water source access and infrastructure); and community kitchens that provide
classes for families to learn how to prepare healthy meals (e.g, certain renovations, equipment,
and new construction).
Non-USDA Programs
Aside from USDA, resources that can be used to support local and regional food systems exist at
other U.S. federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
For example, the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) is a non-refundable tax credit intended to
encourage private capital investment in eligible, impoverished, low-income communities. These
include communities that have limited access to fresh and nutritious foods (“food deserts”). The
program was authorized by the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-554) to
stimulate investment in low-income communities. NMTCs are allocated by the Community
Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) fund, a bureau within U.S. Treasury, under a
competitive application process. Investors who make qualified equity investments reduce their
federal income tax liability by claiming the credit. The NMTC program was authorized to
allocate $33 billion through the end of 2011. To date, the CDFI has made 495 awards totaling $26
billion in NMTC’s allocation authority.100
Similarly, HHS funds programs through states that coordinate food assistance resources and help
low-income communities with child nutrition and with other food needs. For example, HHS’s
Community and Economic Development (CED) program provides competitive discretionary
grants authorized by the Community Services Block Grant Act (P.L. 105-285).101 The program
provides up to $800,000 each for projects designed to address the healthy food access needs of
low-income individuals and families through the creation of employment and business
opportunities. Among its goals are to revitalize communities and to eliminate food deserts.
Eligible uses include startup or expansion of businesses or physical or commercial activities;
capital expenditures such as purchases of equipment or real property; allowable operating
expenses; and loans or equity investments. Eligible applicants include private, nonprofit
organizations that are community development corporations (CDCs), including faith-based
organizations and tribal organizations. For FY2010, $36.0 million was appropriated for the
program.102 Both the NMTC and HHS programs are considered as part of the Administration’s
Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) described in the following section of this report.
Potentially helpful programs also are available in other federal agencies, including the
Department of Housing and Urban Development; the Commerce Department’s Economic
Development Administration; and the Small Business Administration. In addition, most states are
active in direct marketing and farmers’ market activities, usually through their state departments
of agriculture.103

100 For more information, see Internal Revenue Service (IRS), “New Markets Tax Credit,” LMSB-04-0510-016, May
2010, and CRS Report RL34402, New Markets Tax Credit: An Introduction.
101 HHS, “Community Economic Development (CED) Program,” http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ced/
index.html.
102 HHS, “Community Economic Development,” http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ced/fact_sheet.html.
103 USDA and other farmers’ market websites provide state contacts (http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FMPP). See
(continued...)
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Administration’s Initiatives
USDA’s Strategic Plan FY2010-2015 outlines the core strategic goals and the primary objectives
for the department.104 Enhancing rural prosperity, supporting sustainable and competitive
agricultural systems, and increasing access to nutritious food are among these goals and
objectives. Many of these same priorities are reflected in the Department’s various initiatives,
such as the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Initiative, the Regional Innovation Initiative,
and the Healthy Food Financing Initiative.
“Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Initiative
“Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” is a USDA-wide initiative that was launched by USDA
in September 2009 to “begin a national conversation to help develop local and regional food
systems and spur economic opportunity.”105 The initiative was designed to eliminate
organizational barriers between existing USDA programs and promote enhanced collaboration
among staff, leveraging existing USDA activities and programs, and thereby “marshalling
resources from across USDA to help create the link between local production and local
consumption.”106 It is not a stand-alone program and does not have its own budget;107 instead, it is
a departmental initiative, and not connected to a specific office or subagency. This is done by
highlighting various existing programs within USDA that are available to support local farmers;
strengthen rural communities; promote healthy eating; protect natural resources; and provide
grants, loans, and support.108 Linking local production with local consumption of farm products
also is one of the primary goals of USDA’s Regional Innovation Initiative (see below).
Among the programs mentioned for leveraging local and regional food production systems are
marketing and promotion programs; rural business and community development programs; and
selected USDA research and cooperative extension programs.109 In response to demand for farm-
to-school activities, certain USDA nutrition and domestic food programs, such as the farm-to-
school and some fresh fruit and vegetable programs, also have been associated with the initiative.
Since its launch, USDA has announced funding for various projects under these and other
programs identified as promoting local-scale sustainable operations.110

(...continued)
also the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (http://www.nasda.org/nasda/nasda/index1.htm).
104 USDA, Strategic Plan FY2010-2015, http://www.ocfo.usda.gov/usdasp/sp2010/sp2010.pdf.
105 USDA, “USDA Launches ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ Initiative to Connect Consumers with Local
Producers to Create New Economic Opportunities for Communities,” September 15, 2009, Release No. 0440.09.
106 USDA, “Our Mission,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/knowyourfarmer?navtype=KYF&navid=
KYF_MISSION; and USDA, AMS, “Regional Food Hubs: Linking Producers to New Markets,” May 2011.
107 Letter to Senators McCain, Roberts, and Chambliss from USDA Secretary Vilsack, April 30, 2010.
108 USDA, http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/knowyourfarmer?navid=KNOWYOURFARMER; see also USDA
memos at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/knowyourfarmer?navtype=KYF&navid=KYF_GRANTS.
109 See USDA, “Our Mission”; and NSAC, “Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems.”
110 For example, USDA’s initial press release announced the following efforts under this initiative: collaborative
outreach and assistance programs to socially disadvantaged and underserved farmers; implementation of a new
voluntary cooperative program for state-inspected establishments to ship meat and poultry in interstate commerce; and
grants to help local business cooperatives, and also the Northwest Food Processors Association.
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USDA’s website lists many other existing agency programs that might be available to provide
assistance to eligible farming businesses. Accordingly, the initiative spans existing, mostly long-
standing programs within most USDA’s agencies, including Rural Development (RD), Research,
Education and Economics (REE), Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS).111
Some in Congress have challenged USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative. In
April 2010, three Senators wrote a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack expressing concerns about
the initiative. The letter stated: “This spending doesn't appear geared toward conventional farmers
who produce the vast majority of our nation’s food supply, but is instead aimed at small, hobbyist
and organic producers whose customers generally consist of affluent patrons at urban farmers’
markets,” among other concerns regarding USDA’s promotion and prioritization of local food
systems. The letter also requested evidence of USDA’s congressional authority to spend money
for “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” and a full itemized accounting of all spending under
the initiative.112 In response, USDA clarified that the initiative
does not have any budgetary or programmatic authority.... Rather, it is a communications
mechanism to further enable our existing programs to better meet their goals and serve
constituents as defined in the respective authorizing legislation and regulations. While there are
no programs under the initiative, since September 2009 a number of our program funding
announcements have included a reference to ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.’ 113
USDA also asserts that “none of these programs are providing preference to local and regional
food system projects, except as provided for in their existing regulatory rules or legislative
authority.”114 According to USDA, there are only two such statutory cases—a 5% set-aside
established in the 2008 farm bill for rural development Business and Industry (B&I) loans and an
allowance for schools to make local purchases under the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and
Vegetable Program (DoD Fresh).115 In addition, USDA issues an administrative notice requiring
that the agency’s Rural Housing and Community Facilities Program provide “that each state must
fund at least one project” supporting the initiative in FY2010 only. (See “Other USDA Actions.”)
The initiative remains controversial. Following extensive House floor debate on the FY2012
Agriculture appropriations bill, the House-passed bill included a number of provisions restricting
funding for selected USDA programs that fund this initiative and also other local and regional
food production projects.116 The Senate bill did not put restrictions on the use of USDA funds to

111 See “USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan’s Memos,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/
knowyourfarmer?navtype=KYF&navid=KYF_GRANTS. These include “Memo on Rural Development Programs,”
August 26, 2009; “Memo on Research, Education and Economics,” October 29, 2009; “Memo on Farm Service
Agency,” June 17, 2010; and “Memo on Agricultural Marketing Service,” July 20, 2010. USDA’s Regional Innovation
Initiative also spans several USDA agencies, including agencies from USDA’s Rural Development, Marketing and
Regulatory Programs, and Natural Resources and Environment mission areas. USDA, “USDA Launches ‘Know Your
Farmer, Know Your Food’ Initiative to Connect Consumers with Local Producers to Create New Economic
Opportunities for Communities,” September 15, 2011, Release No. 0440.09.
112 Letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack from Senators McCain, Roberts, and Chambliss, April 27, 2010.
113 Letter to Senators McCain, Roberts, and Chambliss from USDA Secretary Vilsack, April 30, 2010.
114 Letter to Senators McCain, Roberts, and Chambliss from USDA Secretary Vilsack, April 30, 2010.
115 CRS communication with USDA staff, June 14, 2011. It is not known how much schools spent on local purchases
under USDA’s farm to school programs in recent years.
116 H.R. 2112, House-reported version, § 750. For more information, see CRS Report R41964, Agriculture and Related
Agencies: FY2012 Appropriations.
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support USDA’s initiative. The enacted FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Act (P.L. 112-55)
does not specifically address this initiative, but the joint explanatory statement requires USDA to
report any travel related to the initiative, including the agenda and the cost of such travel, and
justification for this initiative in its FY2013 budget request.117 USDA is also required to submit a
report to Congress on the impacts of the initiative during the previous two years, and to provide a
justification for the initiative as part of its FY2013 budget explanatory notes.
Regional Innovation Initiative
The “Regional Innovation Initiative” (RII) was launched in 2010 and funding was requested as
part of the Administration’s FY2011 and FY2012 funding requests to “focus on the planning and
coordination of USDA and other sources of assistance for rural communities.”118 These five rural
development pillars are also outlined in USDA’s Strategic Plan FY2010-2015.119 The initiative is
intended as the agency’s “different direction as it relates to rural development,” and spans five
rural development pillars: rural broadband; biofuels and biobased products; linking local
production and consumption of farm products; ecosystem markets to pay producers for
sequestering carbon; and forest restoration and private land conservation.120 The Administration’s
FY2012 budget proposal endorsed “strategic leveraging of existing resources to strengthen rural
communities” through the initiative. However, Congress provided no funding to USDA for the
initiative in the enacted FY2012 Agriculture appropriations.121
Although funding was not provided, Congress did address this initiative during the appropriations
debate. The House-passed Agriculture appropriations report stated that the committee is “unable
to provide any funding or authorization for the initiative as requests for additional information on
the specific purpose, need, and plans for the initiative have gone unanswered” and directed USDA
not to spend any of its funding for the Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) on the
initiative without Congress’s approval.122 The Senate bill did not put restrictions on the use of
USDA funds to support USDA’s initiative. The enacted FY2012 appropriations law also did not
specifically address this initiative.
Healthy Food Financing Initiative
The “Healthy Food Financing Initiative” (HFFI) was launched in 2010 and funding was requested
as part of the Administration’s FY2011 and FY2012 funding requests to “support local and
regional efforts to increase access to healthy foods, particularly for the development of grocery
stores and other healthy food retailers in urban and rural food deserts and other underserved
areas.”123 The multi-year $400 million initiative involves USDA, HHS, and the U.S. Department

117 H.Rept. 112-284, p. 190 (Congressional Record, November 14, 2011, pp. H7433-7576).
118 USDA, “FY2011 Budget Summary and Annual Performance Plan,” http://www.obpa.usda.gov/.
119 USDA, Strategic Plan FY2010-2015, http://www.ocfo.usda.gov/usdasp/sp2010/sp2010.pdf.
120 Jon Harsch, “Sec. Vilsack proposes ‘Regional Innovation Initiative’ for rural America,” Agri-Pulse, March 3, 2010.
For more about rural development programs generally, see CRS Report RL31837, An Overview of USDA Rural
Development Programs.
121 See CRS Report R41964, Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2012 Appropriations.
122 H.Rept. 112-101.
123 USDA, “FY2011 Budget Summary and Annual Performance Plan,” http://www.obpa.usda.gov/.
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of the Treasury, including programs discussed in the previous section of this report. (See “Non-
USDA Programs.”)
The HFFI is intended to bring grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to the nation’s low-
income and underserved urban and rural communities. Funding is directed toward retail
establishments only, which have included—but are not limited to—healthy corner store initiatives
and farmers’ markets.124 The $400 million initiative includes $250 million in authority for the
New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and $25 million for financial assistance to Treasury-certified
community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to support private investment in
underserved communities.125 The HHS portion of the initiative provides grants as part of its
Community Economic Development (CED) program to support projects that finance grocery
stores, farmers’ markets, and other retail outlets for fresh nutritious food.126 The USDA portion
supports businesses through its existing loan and grant programs, and other types of technical
assistance. HFFI is based on the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative and similar efforts
in other states to attract fresh-food retail investment in underserved communities through one-
time grants and loan financing.127
What remains unclear is the extent to which HFFI will primarily fund national wholesale grocery
stores or other types of establishments, including local food systems. The Administration’s
FY2012 budget proposal requested that $35 million be appropriated to USDA under this
initiative. Congress provided no funding for USDA for HFFI in the enacted FY2012 Agriculture
appropriations because the initiative “has yet to prove that any expenditures made for this
initiative have been effective” in meeting the goal of ensuring that more people have access to
nutritious foods.128 Elsewhere in the FY2012 appropriations, Congress did provide funding for
other parts of HFFI, such as $22 million for the U.S. Department of the Treasury to administer the
NMTC for retail food outlets.
Congressional Actions
Legislative Options
Authorization for many of the selected programs highlighted in this report are contained within
periodic farm bills or within the most recent reauthorization of the child nutrition programs.
Omnibus farm bills govern U.S. agricultural and food programs, covering a wide range of
programs and provisions, and are reviewed and renewed roughly every five years. Although many
of these policies can be and sometimes are modified through freestanding authorizing legislation
or as part of other laws, the omnibus, multi-year farm bill provides a predictable opportunity for
policymakers to address agricultural and food issues more comprehensively. The Food,
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, “2008 farm bill”) is the most recent

124 HHS, “HFFI Grantee List,” http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ced/HFFI_grantee_summaries.html.
125 USDA, “Obama Administration Details Healthy Food Financing Initiative,” February 19, 2010.
126 Ibid. Also, Debra Tropp, “Support of Local Food Initiatives,” USDA AMS, October 2010.
127 CDFI Fund, Healthy Food Retail Financing At Work: Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, September 30,
2011, http://www.cdfifund.gov/. Illinois and New York have similar policies, along with Detroit, New York City, New
Orleans, and Washington, DC.
128 H.Rept. 111-284. See also CRS Report R41964, Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2012 Appropriations.
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The Role of Local Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy

omnibus farm bill.129 The 112th Congress will likely consider reauthorization of the 2008 farm
bill, as some of its provisions will be expiring in 2012. The breadth of farm bills has expanded in
recent decades to include new and expanding agricultural interests. Building on changes that were
made in the enacted 2008 farm bill, the pending reauthorization offers opportunities for
expanding provisions in ways that could benefit farmers and ranchers who participate in local and
regional agricultural markets. Options include expanding or establishing set-asides within
existing loan and grant programs, and improving access to healthier foods in school meals and for
lower-income and underserved communities through new or existing programs. Conversely, farm
bill reauthorization could provide an opportunity to cut overall spending on U.S. farm programs,
in response to budgetary concerns.
Child nutrition programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC) provide cash, commodity, and other assistance under three major federal
laws: the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (originally enacted as the National
School Lunch Act in 1946), the Child Nutrition Act (originally enacted in 1966), and Section 32
of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. § 612c). Congress periodically reviews and reauthorizes
expiring authorities under these laws. The most recent reauthorization of the child nutrition
programs was in 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296).130 In the 2008
farm bill, Congress expanded the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable (Snack) Program, amending the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.131
Pending Bills in the 112th Congress
In recent years a diverse mix of community and rural development groups and small-farm
advocacy organizations have promoted initiatives intended to support the development of local
and regional food systems by reforming the existing farm support framework and building on the
concept of direct farm-to-consumer marketing to create new economic opportunities for small and
medium-sized farms. Some domestic food-related and public health organizations are also
promoting initiatives to improve access to healthy, nutritious foods to schools and to underserved
communities.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has been actively advocating to reduce
total farm bill spending through payment limits and other reforms, while increasing investments
in certain perceived underfunded areas, such as support for new farmers, rural development,
conservation, renewable energy, agricultural research, and new market development.132 The State
of California also has submitted farm bill recommendations, which include promoting specialty
crop production both to enhance fruit and vegetable production and to improve public health and
nutrition, while also revitalizing local communities, supporting organic agriculture, and
enhancing the natural environment, among other goals.133 Meanwhile some state and local

129 See CRS Report RS22131, What Is the “Farm Bill”? More detailed information on the 2008 bill is in CRS Report
RL34696, The 2008 Farm Bill: Major Provisions and Legislative Action.
130 P.L. 111-296. For more information, see CRS Report R41354, Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization: Issues and
Legislation in the 111th Congress.
131 P.L. 110-246, § 4304.
132 NSAC, “NSAC Releases Letter to the Super Committee and Farm Bill Budget Views,” September 20, 2011. Also
see NSAC’s 2012 “Farm Bill Platform: Budget Chapter Background,” http://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-content/
uploads/2011/09/Farm-Bill-Budget-Chapter-NSAC-Farm-Bill-Platform-Sept-2011.pdf.
133 California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), “California and the Farm Bill: A Vision for Farming in the
(continued...)
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groups, such as the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit organization The Food Trust, are promoting the
need for expanding farmers’ market programs and farm-to-school programs, as well as initiatives
to reduce the number of food deserts nationwide.134 These types of recommendations have been
proposed by a variety of other groups and think tanks.135
Several bills have been introduced in the 112th Congress addressing many of these areas. Some of
the introduced bills represent comprehensive “marker bills” addressing provisions across multiple
farm bill titles and recommending changes that would provide additional directed support for
local and regional food systems.136 Some in Congress have expressed the need to change farm
policies in ways that might also enhance support for local food systems and rural communities.137
One of the more comprehensive marker bills is the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2011
(H.R. 3286/S. 1773; Pingree/Brown), proposing comprehensive changes to several USDA
programs in the farm bill covering commodity support and crop insurance, farm credit,
conservation, nutrition, rural development, research, and horticulture and livestock programs. The
proposed changes are intended to enhance support for local and regional food production and
farming systems. Other bills, including the Fresh Regional Eating for Schools and Health Act of
2011 (S. 2016; Wyden) and the Growing Opportunities for Agriculture and Responding to
Markets Act of 2011 (S. 1888; Casey) also seek to increase access to loans for small and
beginning farmers, and other groups.138
The Community Agriculture Development and Jobs Act (H.R. 3225; Kaptur), re-introduced from
the 111th Congress, also targets enhanced support for non-traditional agricultural producers. The
bill identifies specific changes to the farm bill and seeks to create a new USDA Office of
Community Agriculture to ensure support for rural and non-rural food programs, provide grants
and outreach for local food initiatives, promote consumption of fruits and vegetables, and
eliminate food deserts. Another bill, the Healthy Food for Healthy Living Act (H.R. 3291;
Velazquez) would provide grants to organizations operating in low-income communities to
promote access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other foods.
Other bills focused at the farm production level include the Beginning Farmer and Rancher
Opportunity Act of 2011 (H.R. 3236/S. 1850; Walz/Harkin), which would expand opportunities
for beginning farmers and ranchers through changes to several USDA programs covering
conservation; rural development; research, education, and extension; and farm credit and crop
insurance. Separately, the Community-Supported Agriculture Promotion Act (S. 1414/Sanders)
would establish a community-supported agriculture promotion program, similar to USDA
farmers’ market program, to expand and develop CSAs, among other goals.

(...continued)
21st Century,” http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/farm_bill/pdfs/FarmBillCof12.pdf.
134 The Food Trust, “Farmers’ Market Alliance” and “Bipartisan ‘Healthy Food Financing’ Bills Would Create Jobs
and Cut Dietary Diseases,” http://www.thefoodtrust.org.
135 See, for example, Harry A. Wallace Center, “Making Changes: Turning Local Visions into National Solutions,”
2003, http://wrdc.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/pub__1046514.pdf.
136 A “marker bill” is used to introduce specific measures or issues into a larger legislative debate. Such legislation is
generally proposed as a “placeholder” for specific aspects of a larger bill, such as the farm bill, and allows legislators to
include key provisions in the larger bill debate while it is still at the committee or subcommittee level.
137 See, for example, Representative Earl Blumenauer’s report, “Growing Opportunities: Family Farm Values for
Reforming the Farm Bill.”
138 For more information, see CRS Report RS21977, Agricultural Credit: Institutions and Issues.
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Other bills actively address concerns about food deserts. The Healthy Food Financing Initiative
(H.R. 3525/S. 1926; Schwartz/Gillibrand), re-introduced from the 111th Congress, seeks to
increase investments in food financing to reduce the number of food deserts nationwide, as well
as address childhood obesity. The Fit for Life Act of 2011 (H.R. 2795/Fudge) seeks to improve
the nutritional quality of and access to foods in underserved communities and to expand certain
child nutrition programs and other school feeding programs, as well as advance preventative
measures and treatment of obesity in adults and children in underserved communities.
Other bills are also focused on nutrition while contemplating an expanded market for local
producers. The Local School Foods Act (H.R. 3092/Welch) would establish a pilot program to
increase the amount of purchases of local fresh fruits and vegetables for schools and service
institutions by giving certain states the option of receiving a USDA grant instead of receiving
commodities under the agency’s commodity procurement programs. The Eat Local Foods Act
(H.R. 1722; Pingree) would provide a grant to states to provide schools with local food credits
equal to a portion of the total value of the commodity assistance (or cash payments in lieu
thereof). Two bills, S. 1593 (Gillibrand) and H.R. 1722 (Pingree), would make it easier for
farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and other farm-to-consumer venues to participate as licensed
retailers in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps).139
Considerations for Congress
Although the 2008 farm bill included a few new provisions that directly support local and
regional food systems, and also contains several programs that benefit all U.S. agricultural
producers, it currently does not contain many programs that directly support local and regional
food systems. Many community and farm advocacy groups have argued that such food systems
should play a larger policy role within the farm bill, and that the laws should be revised to reflect
broader, more equitable policies across a range of production systems, including local and
regional food systems.
Many in Congress have historically defended the existing farm support programs as a means to
ensure that the United States has continued access to the “most abundant, safest, and most
affordable food supplies in the world.” However, there are long-standing criticisms of the
traditional farm subsidy programs administered by USDA. Some criticize the fact that the core
farm bill programs are focused on selected commodities—corn, wheat, cotton, rice, soybeans,
dairy, and sugar—and there have been calls from both inside and outside Congress to revamp
U.S. farm programs. Among other program criticisms are concerns about the overall effectiveness
of farm programs and the cost to taxpayers and consumers, as well as questions about whether
continued farm support is even necessary, given that many support programs were established
many decades ago and are considered by some to be no longer compatible with current national
economic objectives, global trading rules, and federal budgetary or regulatory policies.
In addition to calls for increased equity among all U.S. food producers—regardless of farm size,
type of food, or how it is produced—various programmatic changes have been proposed, some of
which dovetail with efforts by supporters of local food systems. For example, it may be argued

139 Under current law, states receive a 50% federal match for electronic benefit transfer machines which are provided to
approved retailers. These bills seek to make these matching funds available for farm-to-consumer retailers who need a
wireless machine – currently not eligible for government financing. H.R. 1722 includes a pilot project that would
include the pursuit of mobile smartphone technology for this purpose.
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The Role of Local Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy

that proposals to address existing restrictions on planting fruits, vegetables, and wild rice on
program crop base acreage (H.R. 2675/S. 1427; Ribble/Lugar) may also have a “local”
component, in that if these restrictions were removed the ability to grow fruits and vegetables on
base acres could potentially provide benefits to producers in some regions.140
Supporters of an increased role for local food systems within the farm bill cite the increasing
popularity of local foods, given perceived higher product quality and freshness, and a general
belief that purchasing local foods helps support local farm economies and/or farmers that use
certain production practices that may be more environmentally sustainable. Rising popularity is
attributed to both increasing consumer demand and a desire among agricultural producers to take
advantage of market opportunities within local and regional markets. Others contend that
subsidizing the more traditional agriculture producers creates a competitive disadvantage to other
producers who do not receive such support.
However, some may be opposed to extending farm bill support to local and regional food
systems, which traditionally have not been a major constituency among other longstanding U.S.
agricultural interests. Those opposed to extending farm bill benefits to local food systems cite
concerns about overall limited financial resources to support U.S. agricultural producers as well
as concerns that the most efficient and productive use of natural resources be employed for
producing food. As shown by challenges from some in Congress to USDA’s “Know Your Farmer,
Know Your Food” initiative, there are concerns about the perceived priorities of USDA and fear
that a shift in priorities may result in fewer resources for “conventional farmers who produce the
vast majority of our nation’s food supply” (see discussion in ““Know Your Farmer, Know Your
Food” Initiative”). Other criticisms highlight the lack of an established definition of what
constitutes a “local food” and also perception that USDA’s support of local foods is mostly
targeted to affluent consumers in urban areas, rather than farmers in rural communities.


140 For additional information, see CRS Report RL34019, Eliminating the Planting Restrictions on Fruits and
Vegetables in the Farm Commodity Programs; also comments from Doug Sombke, South Dakota Farmers Union,
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (OIM-NAS), Farm and Food Policy: Relationship to Obesity
Prevention, May 19, 2011.
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Table 2. Selected USDA Programs that Potentially Support Local and Regional Food Systems
USDA
Program Name /
Program
agency
CFDA#
Type
Eligible Applicants
Assistance Amount
Total Funding Type/Amount
AMS
Specialty Crop Block
Formula
State departments of
Varies by state. Base grant (about $180,000
Mandatory, combined total of $224 million
Grant Program (SCBGP), grants.
agriculture, in partnership with
per state), plus additional funds based on the
for FY2009-FY2012. Local share:
10.170.
organizations.
state’s share of the total value of U.S.
Unknown.
specialty crop production. In FY2011, grants
ranged from $181,000 to $18.7 mil ion.
AMS Farmers'
Market Project
Farmer cooperatives, grower
Limited to $100,000, with a minimum award
Mandatory, combined total of $33 million
Promotion Program
grants.
associations, nonprofit/public
of $5,000. Individual grants have averaged
for FY2008-2012. Local share: Unknown.
(FMPP), 10.168.
benefit corporations, local
about $50,000.
governments, regional farmers’
market authorities.
FNS
WIC Farmers’ Market
Formula
State health, agriculture and
Varies by state. In FY2011, grants ranged
Discretionary, $16.5 million appropriated
Nutrition Program
grants.
other agencies and Indian
from $6,300 to $3.9 million.
in FY2012. Local share: Unknown.
(WIC-FMNP), 10.572.
tribes.
FNS
Senior Farmers' Market
Project
State health, agriculture and
Varies by state. In FY2011, grants ranged
Mandatory, $20.6 million annually through
Nutrition Program
grants.
other agencies and Indian
from $10,000 to $1.9 million.
FY2012. Local share: Unknown.
(SFMNP), 10.576.
tribes.
AMS
Federal State Marketing
Project
State departments of
Grants have ranged from $21,000 to
Discretionary, about $1.3 million
Improvement Program
grants.
agriculture, state agricultural
$135,000, averaging $51,385. Matching funds
appropriated annually. Local share:
(FSMIP), 10.156.
experiment stations, and other
required.
Unknown.
state agencies.
RD Value-Added
Producer
Project
Individual farmers, agriculture
Maximum grant amounts: $100,000 (planning
Mandatory, $15 million (FY2008), available
Grants (VAPG), 10.352.
grants.
producer groups, farmer and
grant) and $300,000 (working capital grant).
until expended, plus authorized annual
rancher cooperatives, and
Grant funds may be used to pay up to 50% of
appropriations of $40 million (FY2008-
majority-controlled producer-
a project’s costs. Applicant must contribute
2012). Local share: Unknown.
based businesses.
at least 50% in cash or in-kind contributions.
NIFA
Beginning Farmer and
Project
State, tribal, local, or
Up to $250,000 per year for up to 3 years.
Mandatory, combined total of $57 million
Rancher Development
grants.
regionally-based networks or
Matching funds are required.
for FY2009-FY2012, plus authorized
Program (BFRDP),
partnerships of public and
annual appropriations of $30 million
10.311.
private entities.
through FY2012. Local share: Unknown.
NIFA
Small Business Innovation Project
Small businesses (fewer than
Grant limited to $100,000 and $500,000, and
Discretionary; appropriated funding has
Research (SBIR), 10.212.
grants.
500 employees).
limited to 8 months and 2 years, depending
ranged from $17 million to $19 million
on the type and phase of the project.
(FY2010-FY2012). Local share: Unknown.
CRS-32

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USDA
Program Name /
Program
agency
CFDA#
Type
Eligible Applicants
Assistance Amount
Total Funding Type/Amount
RMA, NRCS, Agricultural Management
Direct
Agricultural producers who
Provides technical and financial assistance of
Mandatory, $15 million annually (FY2008-
AMS
Assistance (AMA),
payments
voluntarily address certain
up to 75% of the cost of installing certain
FY2012), al ocated to NRCS (50%), RMA
10.917.
for specified farmland conservation issues.
practices. Total AMA payments shall not
(40%), and AMS (10%). Local share:
use.
exceed $50,000 per participant per year.
Unknown.
RMA Community
Outreach
Disseminate Educational institutions,
Assistance is through a cooperative
In FY2011, awards totaled $13.6 million
and Assistance
technical
community organizations,
agreement, ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 through two RMA programs. Local share:
Partnership Program
information; farmer/rancher associations,
per agreement. No matching funds are
Unknown.
(COAPP), 10.455
training
state departments of
required.
agriculture, and nonprofits.
USDA,
Outreach and Assistance
Project
Land grant institutions, state-
Grants range from $100,000 to $400,000 per
Discretionary. Appropriated up to $6
Office of
to Social y Disadvantaged grants.
controlled institutions, Indian
year for up to 3 years, with no matching
million; much lower than authorized
Outreach
Farmers and Ranchers
tribes, Latino-serving
requirements.
amount ($25 million a year, 2002 farm
and
(OASDFR), 10.443.
institutions, nonprofits,
bill). Local share: Unknown.
Advocacy
community organizations.
RD Rural
Cooperative
Project
Nonprofit corporations
1-year grants up to $225,000, with matching
Discretionary. Appropriations lower than
Development Grant
grants.
including universities.
requirements. Maximum award amount per
authorized ($50 million annually). Grant
(RCDG), 10.771.
Small Socially-Disadvantaged Producer Grant
funds range from $7-8 million (FY2010-
is $200,000.
2011). Local share: Unknown.
RD Business
and
Industry
Direct and
Individual, nonprofits, business, Guaranteed loans up to $10 million, with
Obligations were $1.3 billion in FY2010,
(B&I) Guaranteed Loans,
guaranteed
special exceptions for loans up to $25 million. and $1.2 billion in FY2011. Local share: At
10.768.
loans.
The Secretary may approve guaranteed loans
least 5% by law.
up to $40 million, for rural cooperative
organizations that process value-added
agricultural commodities.
RD Community
Facilities
Direct and
Public and nonprofit
Direct loans range from $5,000 to $9 million
Direct loans: $290 million (FY2011);
(CF), 10.766.
guaranteed
organizations, and Indian
(average: $828,407); guaranteed loans range
guaranteed loans: $196 million (FY2011);
loans;
tribes.
form $26,000 to $20 million (average: $2.8
project grants: $28 million (FY2011). Local
project
mil ion); and project grants range from $300
share: Unknown.
grants.
to $0.4 million. No matching requirements.
RD Rural
Business
Enterprise
Project
Rural public entities (towns,
No set maximum or minimum, but smaller
Obligations for all project grants have
Grants (RBEG), 10.769.
grants.
communities, state agencies,
grants are prioritized. Grants generally range
averaged about $40 million annually
and authorities), Indian tribes,
from $10,000 up to $500,000, with no
(FY2009-FY2011). Local share: Unknown.
and rural private nonprofit
matching requirements. The average award
organizations.
amount is just under $100,000.
RD Rural
Business Project
Rural public entities, rural
Up to $250,000 for project period, up to 2
Obligations for all project grants have
Opportunity Grant
grants.
nonprofit corporations, rural
years, with matching requirements. Grants
averaged about $2.5 million annually
(RBOG), 10.773.
Indian tribes, and cooperatives. general y range from $10,000 up to $150,000.
(FY2010-FY2012). Local share: Unknown.
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USDA
Program Name /
Program
agency
CFDA#
Type
Eligible Applicants
Assistance Amount
Total Funding Type/Amount
RD Rural
Microentrepreneur
Loans and
Microenterprise Development
Loans range from a minimum of $50,000 to a
Mandatory. $4 million annually (FY2009-
Assistance Program
technical
Organizations (MDOs), or
maximum of $500,000 for a single loan in any
FY2011); $3 million for FY2012, plus
(RMAP), 10-870.
assistance
other nonprofit organizations,
given fiscal year. Grants are awarded up to
authorized appropriations of $40 million
grants.
Indian tribe or public
$130,000, with matching requirements.
annual y (FY2009-FY2012). Local share:
institution of higher education
Unknown.
that serve rural areas.
NIFA Sustainable
Agriculture
Project
Individual farmers/ranchers,
Varies depending on the type of grant and the Discretionary. Appropriated funding
Research and Education
grants.
extension agents and university region, ranging from $1,000 for a producer
averaging $13 million to $14 million
(SARE), 10.215.
educators, researchers,
grant or $350 for a research grant.
annual y (FY2010-FY2012). Local share:
nonprofits, and communities.
Unknown.
FNS
Farm to School, 10.579.
Project
Eligible schools, state and local
Maximum grant amount shal not exceed
Mandatory funding set at $5 million
grants.
agencies, Indian tribes,
$100,000, and the federal share not exceed
starting on October 1, 2012, and each
agricultural producers/groups,
75% of the total project cost.
October 1 thereafter, plus appropriations
nonprofits organizations.
“such sums as necessary” (FY2011-
FY2015). Local share: Unknown.
FNS
School Gardens, 10.579.
Project
The pilot shall target not more
USDA's People's Garden School Pilot
The 2008 farm bill did not authorize
grants.
than five states (either a
Program was awarded to Washington State
appropriations to carry out the provision,
school-based or a community-
University and will serve students attending
but USDA allocated $1 million to the
based summer program).
70 elementary schools (WA, NY, IA, AR).
Peoples' Garden School Pilot Program.
FNS
Provision within
Allows
Eligible schools, state and local
Provision is structured as a preference and
The 2008 farm bill did not authorize
commodity procurement
geographic
agencies.
does not require states and school food
appropriations or designate how much

through “DoD Fresh”
preference
authorities to include geographic preference
participating states should spend in
program.
regarding
in their procurement.
carrying out this provision. Local share:
commodity
Unknown.
purchases.
NIFA Community
Food Project
Nonprofits, cooperatives,
Grants range from $10,000-$30,000 per
Mandatory, combined total of $1 million
Projects (CFP), 10.225.
grants.
commercial entities, farmers,
project, and require a match in resources.
for FY2009-2011, plus authorized
academic institutions, and
appropriations of $2 million (FY2012).
USDA-designated entities.
Local share: Unknown.
Source: Complied by CRS. Funding levels shown are those available for all U.S. farming operations and food distribution systems, regardless of size and distance from
market. Data are not available to determine share of available funding for the highlighted program used to support local and regional food systems. Programs are grouped
according to their listing in the Appendix; groupings are not intended to indicate any rank or importance. Policy changes within commodity procurement through “DoD
Fresh” are not a program per se.
Notes: “Mandatory” means funding is available without an annual appropriation, and usual y funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). “Discretionary”
requires an annual appropriation by Congress. Where the funding source could not be readily determined, available data on obligations/awards are provided. USDA
agencies include Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Rural Development (RD), Risk Management Agency (RMA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA),
Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
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Appendix. Overview of Selected Federal Programs
Following is a listing of generally available federal farm support and grant programs that may
generally provide support and assistance to local and regional food production systems. However,
except as noted, these programs are not limited or targeted to local or regional food systems.
These federal programs are grouped into the following broad program categories (grouped by
type of support and not intended to indicate any rank or importance):
• marketing and promotion;
• business assistance;
• rural and community development;141 and
• nutrition and education.
These programs are summarized in Table 2 above. Many of the programs reviewed below are
highlighted as part of the Administration’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative,
among other USDA documentation.142 Other programs have been identified by the National
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in its Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional
Food Systems, as well as various state or regional initiatives that are listed in the appendix of
NSAC’s report.143 A primary source of information on these selected programs is from the
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.144
This appendix does not provide a comprehensive listing of all possible USDA programs that
might benefit local and regional food systems. Instead, it focuses on selected USDA grant and
loan programs administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the Rural
Development (RD) agencies, and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
Although this appendix provides some information on a few programs administered by other
USDA agencies, it does not review many of the broad-based conservation and research programs
that provide benefits to a range of agricultural producers, including producers engaged in local
and regional food production systems, either directly or indirectly.145 These programs are

141 For more information, see CRS Report RL31837, An Overview of USDA Rural Development Programs. USDA
links to state or local office information is at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html. For most programs, “rural
areas” are defined as any area except a city or town where the population exceeds 50,000, or any urbanized area
contiguous or adjacent to a town with more than 50,000 people (7 U.S.C. § 1991(a)(13)(A)).
142 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” (http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS);
“Family and Small Farms” (http://www.nifa.usda.gov/familysmallfarms.cfm); “USDA Resources for Local Food
Systems” (http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/food/in_focus/health_if_usda_local_food.html); and “Farms and
Community” (http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=2&tax_level=1&tax_subject=301).
143 Including partnerships and university programs located in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, and other states. Also, presentations from Drake University Law
School conference, “America’s New Farmers: Policy Innovations and Opportunities,” Washington DC, March 2010.
144 CFDA has detailed program descriptions for more than 2,000 federal assistance programs (https://www.cfda.gov).
145 For more information, see CRS Report R40763, Agricultural Conservation: A Guide to Programs and CRS Report
R40819, Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension: Issues and Background. Information on how these
programs contribute to local and regional food systems are outlined in memos from USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen
A. Merrigan “Harnessing USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Programs to Support Local and Regional
Food Systems,” January 21, 2011, http://kyf.blogs.usda.gov/files/2011/01/NRCS-Memo.pdf, and “USDA Research,
Education, and Economics Support for Local and Regional Food Systems,” October 27, 2009, http://www.usda.gov/
documents/KnowYourFarmerandREE.pdf.
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authorized by the periodic omnibus farm bill. USDA’s conservation programs are administered by
the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and
provide financial and technical assistance, as well as competitive grants, as part of a range of
programs administered by these USDA agencies. USDA’s research and extension programs are
administered by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) or the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA), and provide funding to states and local partners through various mechanisms,
such as formula funds, competitive grants, and other programs.146
The funding levels reported for these selected programs are those available, in some cases, for all
U.S. farming operations and food distribution systems, regardless of size and location from
market. Data are not available to determine share of available funding for these programs used to
support local and regional food systems, compared to all other types of farming systems. Only a
few cases exist where there is a statutory requirement supporting local production, such as in the
5% set-aside of total Business and Industry (B&I) loans, or the option to make local purchases
under USDA’s Farm to School program. For many of these programs, most indications are that
the share used to support local food systems is likely very small.
Marketing and Promotion
Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP), administered by AMS, was authorized in the
Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-465), and further amended by the 2008
farm bill.147 Under the program, USDA provides block grants to the state departments of
agriculture within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories to enhance the
competitiveness of specialty crops. The program is funded through USDA’s Commodity Credit
Corporation (CCC),148 and is therefore mandatory, available without an annual (or discretionary)
appropriation. Program funding will have totaled $224 million over the FY2009-FY2012 period:
$10 million (FY2008); $49 million (FY2009); and $55 million annually (FY2010-2012).
Under the program, each state receives a base grant plus additional funds based on the state’s
share of the total value of U.S. specialty crop production.149 California, Florida, and Washington
have been the three largest recipients under this program, accounting for nearly one-half of all
available funds.150 How each state spends its allocation depends on its priorities. In FY2011, a

146 USDA’s Current Research Information System (CRIS) is the agency’s documentation and reporting system for
ongoing and recently completed research and education projects. See http://cris.csrees.usda.gov/;
http://cris.nifa.usda.gov/cgi-bin/starfinder/0?path=crisassist.txt&id=anon&pass=&OK=OK.
147 P.L. 110-246, § 10109; 7 U.S.C. § 1621 note (CFDA# 10.170). “Specialty crop” is defined as: “fruits and
vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops (including floriculture).”See also “USDA
Definition of Specialty Crop” (http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5082113).
148 USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation is a government-owned corporation that is authorized to borrow up to $30
billion at any one time from the U.S. Treasury. The CCC mainly is a financing mechanism for farm bill programs such
as commodity price and income supports, agricultural conservation, export assistance, and other mandated
authorizations.
149 The minimum base grant each state is eligible to receive is equal to the higher of $100,000 or 1/3 of 1% of the total
amount of funding made available for that fiscal year. For FY2010, the base grant portion was $181,210 per state. The
additional allocation is based on the value of specialty crop production in each state relative to national production,
using available cash receipt data.
150 USDA, “Fiscal Year 2011 Awards,” http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5093883.
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total of 739 projects were funded covering marketing and promotion (32% of projects), education
(15%), research (15%), pest and plant health (16%), food safety (9%), and production (6%),
among other types of projects (7%).151 USDA’s annual report describes the funded projects across
all states.152 Among the types of projects funded by the program are school and community
gardens; farm-to-school programs; certification and training for farmers; facilities that support the
processing, aggregation, and distribution of locally grown specialty crops; and improved access to
specialty crops in underserved communities.153 A report by the National Farm to School Network
indicates that many states have funded farm-to-school programs using these program funds.154
Farmers’ Market Promotion Program
The Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP), administered by AMS, was originally
authorized in the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976, was amended in the 2002
and 2008 farm bills.155 Under the program, USDA provides grants to establish, improve, and
promote farmers’ markets and other direct marketing activities such as roadside stands,
community supported agriculture (CSAs), pick-your-own farms, agritourism, direct sales to
schools, and other direct marketing activities. Eligible entities include farmer cooperatives,
grower associations, nonprofit/public benefit corporations, local governments, economic
development corporations, regional farmers’ market authorities, among others. FMPP grants are
available to bring local farm products into federal nutrition programs with electronic benefits
transfer (EBT) technology at direct-market outlets; raise customer awareness of local foods
through promotion and outreach; educate farmers and growers in marketing, business planning,
and similar topics; increase market awareness through advertising and branding efforts; and
purchase infrastructure, such as refrigerated trucks, or equipment for a commercial kitchen for
value-added products.156 Grant awards are limited to $100,000, with a minimum award of $5,000.
Matching funds are not required. Funding is through the CCC: $3 million (FY2008); $5 million
(FY2009-2010); and $10 million annually (FY2011-2012). A listing of FY2011 awards are at
USDA’s website.
Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs
FNS administers two programs that provide redeemable benefits at farmers’ markets—the WIC
Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (WIC-FMNP), and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition
Program (SFMNP). The FNS provides grants to state agencies, such as state health, agriculture
and other agencies and Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs), in nearly all states.157 Participating
state agencies must submit a plan describing how the agency intends to implement, operate and
administer the program. Grant payments are made by a letter of credit, and state agencies may
withdraw funds only as needed.

151 AMS, “Funded Projects,” http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5093992.
152 Ibid. USDA’s report provides a full listing of all program recipients by state, applicant name, and grant amount.
153 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
154 Farm to School Network, “Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Funded Projects Project SubType - Farm to
School,” http://www.farmtoschool.org/files/publications_267.pdf. The summary covers the FY2006-2009 period.
155 P.L. 94-463; 7 U.S.C. § 3005 (CFDA# 10.168). AMS, http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FMPP.
156 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
157 A map of participating states is at http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/SFMNP-FMNP-Map.pdf.
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The WIC-FMNP was first established in 1992 under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and later amended, to provide fresh, locally grown
produce to low-income WIC applicants and recipients and to expand their use of farmers’
markets. The program allows farmers’ markets and roadside stands to accept WIC-FMNP benefits
(usually through coupons).158 Participating state agencies must provide program income or state,
local, or private funds for the program in an amount that is equal to at least 30% of the
administrative cost of the program, with some exceptions for tribal agencies. In FY2010, the
program covered an estimated 2.15 million recipients, and about 18,200 farmers, 3,600 farmers’
markets, and 2,800 roadside stands. Coupons redeemed through the program resulted in an
estimated $15.7 million in revenue to farmers for FY2010. Total WIC-FMNP grant funding
ranged from $21 million to $23 million per year between FY2006-FY2011; grant amounts for
individual states are at USDA’s website.159 Appropriated funding for the WIC FMNP totaled
$19.96 million in FY2011.
The SFMNP was authorized in the 2002 farm bill, and amended in the 2008 farm bill, to provide
fruits, vegetables, herbs and honey from farmers’ markets, roadside stands and CSA programs to
low-income seniors, by allowing farmers’ markets and roadside stands to accept FMNP
coupons.160 The SFMNP awards grants to states, territories, and ITOs to provide low-income
seniors with coupons that can be exchanged for eligible foods at farmers’ markets, roadside
stands, and CSAs. Funding in FY2010 covered an estimated 845,000 participants and about
20,100 farmers, 4,600 farmers’ markets, 3,700 roadside stands, and 160 CSAs. The 2008 farm bill
provided for additional mandatory funding through the CCC of $20.6 million annually to operate
the SFMNP through FY2012. Total SFMNP grant levels ranged from $16 million to $22 million
per year between FY2006-FY2011; grant amounts for individual states are at USDA’s website.161
In addition, benefits under the FNS-administered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) provides additional available resources to patronize and support farmers markets. SNAP
participants receive benefits on an electronic benefit transfer card that they may redeem at an
authorized retailer for most foods. SNAP benefits may also be used to purchase seeds or plants to
grow food.162 Farmers’ markets may become SNAP-licensed retailers.163 USDA reported that in
2010 that 1,611 farmers’ markets or individual farmers were authorized to accept SNAP benefits,
and they redeemed a total of $7.5 million in SNAP benefits—an increase of 263% in
authorizations and a 49% in benefits redeemed compared to the previous five-year period.164

158 P.L. 111-296, § 424; 42 U.S.C. 1786, amending the Child Nutrition Act (CFDA# 10.572). FNS,
http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/fmnp/fmnpfaqs.htm.
159 FNS, “Grant Levels by State, FY 2006-2011,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/FMNP/FMNPgrantlevels.htm.
160 P.L. 107-171; § 4402; 7 U.S.C. 3007 (CFDA# 10.576). USDA, http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/SeniorFMNP/
SFMNPmenu.htm.
161 FNS, “SFMNP Grant Levels, FY 2006-2011,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/SeniorFMNP/SFMNPgrantlevels.htm.
162 The 1973 farm bill (Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973, P.L. 93-86, 7 U.S.C. § 2012(b)) included an
amendment to the Food Stamp Act such that “the term ‘food’... shall also include seeds and plants for use in gardens to
produce food for the personal consumption of the eligible household.” For information see FNS, “SNAP: Eligible
Foods,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/eligible.htm and SNAPGardens.org, (http://www.snapgardens.org/).
163 For information see USDA, FNS, “SNAP: Learn How You Can Accept SNAP Benefits At Farmers’ Markets,”
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/fm.htm.
164 USDA FNS, “SNAP’s Benefit Redemption Division (BRD) Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2010,” May 3, 2011,
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/pdfs/2010-annual-report.pdf. Based on a total out of 6,132 farmers’ markets.
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SNAP law, however, does not require or encourage that benefits be redeemed at local
establishments or in farm-to-consumer settings. One program option exists for targeting these
resources to farmers’ markets: SNAP bonus incentive projects, which allow SNAP participants to
redeem their benefits from more than “money on the dollar.” For example, a participant may
exchange $3 of benefits for a $6 voucher to redeem at the market.165 FNS, however, requires that
the bonus funds be non-federal dollars, and that the farmers’ markets include their intention to be
part of a bonus incentive program as part of their authorization plan.166
Federal State Marketing Improvement Program
The Federal State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) was authorized in the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946.167 Administered by AMS, the program provides matching funds to state
departments of agriculture, state agricultural experiment stations, and other appropriate state
agencies to provide new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products and to
encourage research and innovation to improve the efficiency and performance of the marketing
system. Matching funds are required. In addition to the projects that are geared toward developing
and improving production and marketing of agricultural products, FSMIP specifically encourages
state agencies to submit proposals to enhance rural communities by developing local and regional
food systems and value-added agriculture, as well as direct marketing opportunities for producers,
or producer groups. Eligible projects may include determining market demand for local products;
building online marketing tools such MarketMaker; developing protocols for harvesting excess
crops for local food banks; and developing business plans for food hubs.168 A list of previously
funded projects is at USDA’s website.169 In recent years, FSMIP grants have ranged from $21,000
to $135,000 each. USDA has received about $1.3 million annually in appropriated funding for the
program, which has been used to fund 20-25 projects, averaging about $50,000 each.
Business Assistance
Value-Added Producer Grants
The Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) program was originally authorized by the Agricultural
Risk Act of 2000, and amended by subsequent farm bills.170 The program, administered by
USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service, provides grants to eligible entities, such as
independent agricultural commodity producers, agricultural producer groups, farmer and rancher
cooperatives, and majority-controlled producer-based businesses, to develop strategies and

165 For information on some examples of SNAP bonus incentive programs see a news release from a private sponsor for
a program in Rhode Island (“BankRI Supports Farm Fresh Rhode Island’s Bonus Bucks for Snap Program,” December
6, 2011, https://www.bankri.com) and a listing of Detroit farmers’ markets that participated in summer 2011 (“Bridge
Card Bonus at Farmers’ Markets this Summer,” July 7, 2011, http://www.doubleupfoodbucks.org/).
166 USDA-FNS, “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Bonus Incentives,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/
fm-scrip-Bonus_Incentives.htm.
167 7 U.S.C. § 1621-1627 (CFDA# 10.156). See USDA, AMS, “FY2011 FSMIP Guidelines”,
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FSMIP.
168 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
Also see AMS, “FY2011 FSMIP Guidelines,” http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FSMIP; and NSAC, “Federal-State
Marketing Improvement program Grants Support Sustainable Agriculture,” July 13, 2011.
169 USDA AMS, “FSMIP Projects: 1990-Present,” http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FSMIP.
170 P.L. 106-224, § 6202; 7 U.S.C. § 1621 note (CFDA# 10.352).
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business plans to further refine, enhance, or otherwise add value to their products. Grants may be
used for planning activities (such as development of feasibility studies, business plans, and
marketing strategies) and for working capital to implement a marketing strategy for value-added
agricultural products and for farm-based renewable energy. The maximum grant amount of a
planning grant is $100,000 and of a working capital grant is $300,000. Grant funds may be used
to pay up to 50% of a project’s costs, with the applicant contributing at least 50% in cash or in-
kind contributions.171 Value-added producer grants offer another potential resource for local and
regional food production systems to engage in market and product development, as well as to
finance various value-added activities, such as further processing and packaging of raw
agricultural commodities. In addition, the program provides priority funding for projects that
contribute to opportunities for beginning farmers or ranchers, socially disadvantaged farmers or
ranchers, and operators of small- and medium-sized family farms and ranches.
Available funding is both mandatory and subject to annual appropriations. Current mandatory
funding levels provided that $15 million for FY2008, which is available until expended.
Discretionary funding is authorized at $40 million annually from FY2008-2012. Since the
program began in 2001 the total amount of grant funding provided has ranged from about $15
million to more than $20 million annually. In FY2009, $22.4 million in grants were awarded. A
full listing of all FY2009 VAPG recipients by state, applicant name, and grant amount is available
at USDA’s website.172
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program
The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), administered by NIFA,
was authorized in the 2002 farm bill.173 The program provides competitive grants to new and
established local and regional training, education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives
that address the needs of beginning farmers and ranchers. Grants are awarded to state, tribal,
local, or regional networks or partnerships of public and private entities. Eligible project areas
include production and land management strategies that enhance land stewardship; business
management and decision support strategies that improve financial viability; marketing strategies
for increased competitiveness; and legal strategies that assist with farm or land acquisition and
transfer. The maximum amount of a grant is $250,000 per year and is limited to three years, with
a 25% match in resources. The 2008 farm bill provided CCC funds of $18 million for FY2009,
and $19 million annually for FY2010 through 2012. Annual appropriations of $30 million were
also authorized for FY2008 through 2012. Abstracts of funded projects by state and amount are
available at USDA’s website.174
Small Business Innovation Research
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program originated as part of the Small
Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, as amended.175 The program, administered by

171 USDA, http://www.rurde.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm.
172 Awards for previous years (2001-2008) are at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm.
173 P.L. 107-171, § 7405; 7 U.S.C. § 3319f (CFDA# 10.311). USDA, http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/ bfrdp/
bfrdp.html; and http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nifa3_content.html.
174 USDA, http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/beginningfarmerandrancher.cfm.
175 P.L. 97-219; 15 U.S.C. § 638 (CFDA# 10.212). Also: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/sbir/sbir_synopsis.html.
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NIFA, provides grants to qualified small businesses to stimulate technological innovations in the
private sector; strengthen the role of small businesses in meeting federal research and
development needs; increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from
USDA-supported research and development efforts; and foster and encourage participation by
women-owned and socially and economically disadvantaged small business firms in
technological innovations. Eligible applicants include small businesses with fewer than 500
employees. Grant amounts are limited to $100,000 and $500,000 per project, and limited to eight
months and to two years, respectively, depending on the type and phase of the project. Previously,
grants have been awarded to small and mid-size farms and ranches that sells to local markets and
to implement a CSA model to bring their locally grown food to inner city households and schools,
among other types of projects.176 A summary of funded projects is at USDA’s website.177 In recent
years, appropriated program funding has ranged from about $17 million to $19 million (FY2010-
FY2012).
Agricultural Management Assistance
The Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program was authorized in the Agricultural
Risk Protection Act of 2000,178 and amended by subsequent farm bills. AMA is managed by three
USDA agencies—NRCS, AMS, and the Risk Management Agency (RMA). The program
provides assistance for producers in states traditionally underserved by federal crop insurance179
to mitigate financial risk through production or marketing diversification or resource conservation
practices. AMA is funded through the CCC at $15 million annually from FY2008-FY2014 and
the funding is allocated in statute as follows: NRCS (50%), RMA (40%), and AMS (10%).180 The
NRCS portion provides financial and technical assistance to farmers to voluntarily address issues
such as water management, water quality, and erosion control by incorporating conservation into
their farming operations.181 The program provides technical and financial assistance of up to 75%
of the cost of installing certain conservation practices. The RMA portion provides assistance to
farmers to mitigate financial risk through production or marketing diversification, including
support for direct marketing and value-added processing, and the development of new risk
management approaches. RMA historically used AMA to provide assistance to producers for the
purchase of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) insurance but has recently been used to increase
participation for buy-up insurance coverage.182 The AMS portion provides support for transition
to organic farming through organic certification cost share assistance. Total AMA payments from
all three agencies cannot exceed $50,000 per participant for any fiscal year.

176 USDA, “SBIR,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nifa5_content.html.
177 NIFA, “Abstracts of Funded SBIR Projects,” http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/sbir/sbir_abstracts.html.
178 P.L. 106-224, § 524b; 7 U.S.C. § 1524 (CFDA# 10.917). USDA, http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/
national/programs/financial/ama.
179 States include Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
180 P.L. 110-246, § 2801.
181 USDA, http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/ama.
182 The AGR provides a guaranteed revenue level for the whole farm and rewards more diversified farmers with higher
coverage levels and smaller insurance premiums. Buy-up insurance provides higher coverage on crops and lower
deductibles (referred to as the Financial Assistance Program); http://www.rma.usda.gov/bulletins/managers/2011/mgr-
11-008.pdf. For more information, see CRS Report R40532, Federal Crop Insurance: Background and Issues.
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Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program
The Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program (COAPP), administered by RMA,
is intended to ensure that women, limited resource, socially disadvantaged and other traditionally
underserved producers of priority commodities are provided information and training necessary
to use financial management, crop insurance, marketing contracts, and other existing and
emerging risk management tools.183 The program provides education, community outreach, and
assistance in 47 states to help small and underserved producers get crop insurance education to
effectively manage their risk and remain productive. Eligible applicants include educational
institutions, community based organizations, associations of farmers and ranchers, state
departments of agriculture, and other non profit organizations. Assistance is through a cooperative
agreement, ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 per agreement. No matching funds are required. In
FY2011, awards totaling about $13.6 million were made available through two RMA programs.184
Outreach and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
The Outreach and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (OASDFR)
program was first authorized in the 1990 farm bill, as amended.185 Also referred to as the “Section
2501 program,” it requires USDA to provide outreach and technical assistance to socially
disadvantaged producers, defined as members of a group that has been subjected to racial or
ethnic prejudice. The program provides competitive grants to land grant institutions (1862, 1890,
or 1994), tribal governments and organizations, Latino-serving institutions, state-controlled
institutions, and community-based organizations and nonprofits to provide outreach, training,
education, financial assistance, and technical assistance, in order to encourage and assist socially
disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners in owning and operating farms, ranches
and non-industrial forest lands. OASDFR supports a range of outreach and assistance activities,
including farm and financial management, marketing, and application and bidding procedures.
Section 2501 was authorized at $25 million a year in the 2002 farm bill; however, the program
has not received a congressional appropriation of more than $6 million in any year since. Grants
range from $100,000 to $400,000 per year for up to three years, and there are no matching
requirements. The program is administered by USDA’s new Office of Outreach and Advocacy.
Rural and Community Development Programs
Rural Cooperative Development Grant
The Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) program was originally authorized in the
1990 farm bill, amending the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (ConAct);186 it was

183 Federal Crop Insurance Act (P.L. 96-365), as amended; 7 U.S.C. § 1522(d) (CFDA# 10.455). USDA,
http://www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/civilrights/outreach.html.
184 RMA’s Targeted States and the Education and Outreach programs. See USDA, “USDA Invests in Crop Insurance
Education to Help Small and Underserved Producers in 47 States Manage Risk, Remain Productive,” October 28, 2011.
185 P.L. 101-624, § 2501; 7 U.S.C. 2279 (CFDA# 10.443), as amended in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246, § 14004).
USDA, http://www.outreach.usda.gov/oasdfr/. See also CRS Report RS20430, The Pigford Cases: USDA Settlement of
Discrimination Suits by Black Farmers.
186 P.L. 101-624, § 2347; ConAct § 310B(e), 7 U.S.C. § 1932 (CFDA# 10.771), P.L. 110-246, § 6013. Formerly known
as the Rural Technology and Cooperative Development Grant Program (RTCDG). USDA,
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/rcdg/rcdg.htm.
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further amended in the 1996 and 2002 farm bills, and extended in the 2008 bill. Administered by
RD, the program provides project grants to nonprofit institutions, including universities, to
establish and operate new or existing centers for rural cooperative development, value-added
processing, and rural businesses, especially cooperatives.187 Some eligible uses of funds include
providing technical assistance, training and educating existing cooperatives; conducting
feasibility studies and providing organizational guidance to new cooperatives; and assessing the
need and evaluating the potential support base for newly developing cooperatives.188 The RCDG
program has been used to support local food systems by establishing linkages with local food
hubs, through the development and distribution of best practices and through training and
technical assistance to farmer cooperatives or any enterprises where multiple farmers collaborate
thus providing for “scaling up” opportunities.189
Matching fund requirement are 25% of the total project cost for most eligible entities, but vary in
some cases. Funding is discretionary, with authorized appropriations of $50 million annually
(FY2008-2012); however, actual appropriated amounts have been lower. For FY2010, total
funding for grants was $7.9 million, covering about 35 awards up to $225,000 each for a period
of one year. FY2011 funds were an estimated $7.4 million.
Under the RCDG program, funds may be used for applications that focus on assistance to small,
minority producers through their cooperative businesses. The Small Socially-Disadvantaged
Producer Grant (SSDPG) is administered under the RCDG program.190 SSDPG provides
technical assistance to small, socially-disadvantaged agricultural producers through eligible
cooperatives and associations of cooperatives. Total program funding is estimated at about $3.5
million. The maximum award amount per grant is $200,000. No matching funds are required.
Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program
The Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan Program was authorized as part of the
ConAct, as amended in the 1996 and 2002 farm bills.191 Administered by RD, the program
provides guaranteed loans to help new and existing businesses in rural areas gain access to
affordable capital. By issuing a guarantee to a private lender, USDA essentially co-signs the loan
to a business owner, promising to pay a portion of any loss that might result if the business owner
is unable to repay the loan. Having the guarantee reduces the lender’s risk, allowing more
favorable interest rates and terms. An eligible borrower may be an individual, a cooperative
organization, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity (both for profit or nonprofit), or a
federally recognized tribal group. Loans may be used to cover business and industrial acquisitions
to prevent the business from closing; prevent the loss of employment opportunities, or provide
expanded job opportunities; provide for business conversion, enlargement, repair, modernization,

187 Cooperative development centers must primarily serve “rural areas” defined as any area except a city or town where
the population exceeds 50,000, or any urbanized area contiguous or adjacent to a town with more than 50,000 people.
188 USDA, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_RCDG.html.
189 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
Also, CRS communication with University of Illinois staff, September 15, 2011.
190 Formerly known as the Small, Minority Producer Grant Program. USDA, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/
ssdpg/ssdpg.htm.
191 7 U.S.C § 1932(g). § 310B of the ConAct, as amended by P.L. 104-127 (§ 747) and P.L. 107-171 (§ 6017) (CFDA#
10.768). USDA, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/busp/b&i_gar.htm.
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or development; purchase and develop land, easements, rights-of-way, buildings, or facilities; and
purchase equipment, leasehold improvements, machinery, supplies, or inventory.
Guaranteed loans go up to $10 million with some special exceptions for loans up to $25 million.
USDA may approve guaranteed loans up to $40 million for rural cooperative organizations that
process value-added agricultural commodities. The maximum repayment for loans on real estate
are not to exceed 30 years; machinery and equipment repayment are not to exceed the useful life
of the machinery and equipment purchased with loan funds or 15 years, whichever is less; and
working capital repayment are not to exceed seven years. Program obligations were $1.3 billion
in FY2010, and $1.2 billion in FY2011. Funds are allocated to states based on the proportion of
their rural population, and funding for any local food initiatives would occur at the state level.
The 2008 farm bill further amended the B&I program to provide that at least 5% of available B&I
program funding from FY2008-2012 be used to support local and regional food production. This
allocation of available funding is to be used to:
make or guarantee loans to individuals, cooperatives, cooperative organizations, businesses, and
other entities to establish and facilitate enterprises that process, distribute, aggregate, store, and
market locally or regionally produced agricultural food products to support community
development and farm and ranch income. [emphasis added]
An eligible “locally or regionally produced agricultural food product” is “any agricultural food
product that is raised, produced, and distributed in ... the locality or region in which the final
product is marketed, so that the total distance that the product is transported is less than 400 miles
from the origin of the product; or ... the State in which the product is produced.”192 For FY2011,
nearly $50 million was made available for local and regional food enterprises, with an estimated
$41 million for FY2012.193 An example of a local enterprise using B&I funds is Prairieland Foods
in Nebraska, which received a $650,000 loan to purchase a new dairy processing facility to
produce dairy products using locally-sourced milk.194
Community Facilities
Community Facilities (CF) loans and grants were authorized in the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act, as amended.195 Administered by RD, the program provides direct loans,
guaranteed/insured loans, and project grants for the construction, acquisition, or renovation of
community facilities or for the purchase of equipment for community facilities for public use in
rural areas. Examples include, but are not limited to: water and environmental projects, including
water systems, waste systems, solid waste, and storm drainage facilities, as well as hospitals, fire
protection, safety, and other community-based initiatives. Matching funds are not required. The
size of the award varies by project, applicant’s financial feasibility, and community size. Direct
loans range from $5,000 to $9 million (average: $828,407); guaranteed loans range form $26,000
to $20 million (average: $2.8 million); and project grants range from $300 to $0.4 million
(average $37,266). Eligible applicants include public and nonprofit organizations, and federally-
recognized Indian tribes. The proposed community facilities must be in rural areas, defined as

192 P.L. 110-246, § 6015.
193 NSAC, “Local and Regional Food Enterprise Guaranteed Loans.”
194 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
195 P.L. 92-419, § 306; 7 U.S.C. § 1926 (CFDA#10.766). USDA, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ HCF_CF.html
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areas with no more than 20,000 residents. In recent years, total funding for direct loans was $681
million (FY2010) and $290 million (FY2011). Funding for guaranteed loans was $292 million
(FY2010) and $196 million (FY2011). Funding for project grants was $61 million (FY2010) and
$28 million (FY2011).
An example of a project financed under the program is a $100,000 grant that was awarded to a
medical center within an island community in Alaska to purchase two greenhouses for a
community garden. Other types of local and regional projects that may qualify for CF funding
include farmers’ markets (e.g., structures); school and community kitchens; food banks, including
refrigerators; community gardens (e.g., purchase land; water source access) and noncommercial
greenhouses; and refrigerated trucks.196
Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG)
The Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) program was authorized under the ConAct, as
amended, and reauthorized in the 2008 farm bill.197 Administered by USDA’s Rural Business-
Cooperative Service, the program provides grants to finance and facilitate a broad range of rural
projects, including the development of small and emerging rural businesses, and employment-
related adult education programs. Funds may also be used to acquire and develop land and
construct buildings, plants, equipment, access, parking areas, and utility and service extensions.
Funds also can be used to refinance loans; provide fees for professional services; support
technical assistance and training; offer startup operating costs and working capital through a
revolving fund; assist a third party financially; produce television programs to provide
information to rural residents; and create, expand, and operate rural distance learning networks.
An example of RBEG funds supporting local food systems include a project grant to develop a
mobile livestock unit in New York to provide local ranchers access to slaughter and processing
equipment and local markets.198 Eligible entities include rural public entities (towns,
communities, state agencies, and authorities), Indian tribes, and rural private nonprofit
organizations. Eligible businesses are those with annual revenue less than $1 million and 50 or
fewer employees. Grants generally range from $10,000 to $500,000. The average award amount
is just under $100,000, with no matching requirements. Funding is subject to annual
appropriations. In the past few years, obligations for all project grants have averaged about $40
million annually (FY2009-FY2011).
Rural Business Opportunity Grant
The Rural Business Opportunity Grant (RBOG) program was authorized in the 1996 farm bill,
amending the ConAct, and reauthorized in the 2008 farm bill.199 Administered by Rural Business-
Cooperative Service, the program provides competitive grants to promote sustainable economic
development in rural communities with exceptional needs through training and technical
assistance for business development, entrepreneurs, and economic development officials and

196 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
197 7 U.S.C. § 1932(c)(2). § 306 of the ConAct, as amended (CFDA#10.769). USDA, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/
busp/rbeg.htm.
198 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
199 P.L. 104-127, § 741, amending § 306 of the ConAct, as amended; 7 U.S.C. § 1926(a)(19)(C)(ii) (CFDA#10.773);
reauthorized in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246, § 6003). USDA, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/rbog.htm.
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through economic development planning. Types of projects that may be funded include regional
economic planning focused on food system development; market development and feasibility
studies; business training, including leadership development and technical assistance for
entrepreneurs; and establishing business incubators, including commercial kitchens.200 An
example of RBOG funds supporting local food systems include a project grant to create
FoodHub, an online marketplace based in Oregon that allows large-scale purchasers of food to
connect with nearby growers.201 For FY2011, USDA awarded 37 grants totaling more than $2.5
million to various organizations in 27 states; of these, five of the awards were for projects that
support local and regional food system development, according to NSAC.202 Eligible entities
include rural public bodies, rural nonprofit corporations, rural Indian tribes, and cooperatives. The
maximum grant amount is $250,000 for project period, up to two years, with matching
requirements. The maximum award for a project serving a single state is $50,000. The maximum
grant for a project serving two or more states is $150,000. Funding is subject to annual
appropriations. In the past few years, obligations for all project grants have averaged about $2.5
million annually (FY2010-FY2012).
Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program
The Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) was authorized in the 2008 farm
bill.203 Administered by RD, the program provides direct loans and project grants to a
Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDO), which may be a nonprofit organization,
Indian tribe, or public institution of higher education that serves rural areas. An MDO may
borrow $50,000 to $500,000 for a single loan in any given fiscal year. Loans can be used to
provide working capital, equipment purchases, debt refinancing, business acquisitions, and
purchase or lease of real estate that is already improved (construction of any type is strictly
prohibited). Grants are awarded up to $130,000, with matching requirements. Technical
assistance grants can be used to provide training, education, operational support, business
planning, market development assistance, other related services to rural microentrepreneurs.
Funding can cover financing a facility or equipment, business planning and marketing, including
coordinating and training necessary for a food hub or commercial kitchen incubator.204 Mandatory
funding through the CCC, which remains available until expended, is $4 million annually
(FY2009-FY2011) and $3 million for FY2012. In addition, appropriations are authorized at $40
million annually (FY2009-FY2012). However, in recent years no funds have been appropriated
and the program received mandatory funding for FY2010 only.

200 A kitchen incubator refers to a business that provides for early-stage catering, retail and wholesale food businesses
to a new small business where it can produce a food product. See databases at culinaryIncubator.com.
201 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
202 NSAC, “RBOG Grants Promote Local and Regional Food Systems,” October 12, 2011 and September 28, 2010.
203 P.L. 110-246, § 6022, amending § 306 of the ConAct, as amended; 7 U.S.C. § 1926(a)(19)(C)(ii) (CFDA#10.870);
reauthorized in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246, § 6003). USDA, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/rbog.htm.
204 USDA, “Grants, Loans, and Support,” http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_GRANTS.
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Research and Cooperative Extension
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), managed by NIFA, originated in the
research provisions in the 1985 farm bill, aimed at enhancing low-input farming systems, and was
expanded and renamed in the 1990 farm bill.205 SARE provides a range of research and education
grants in the areas of renewable energy, pest and weed management, pastured livestock and
rotational grazing, no-till and conservation tillage, nutrient management, agroforestry, marketing,
sustainable communities, systems research, and crop and livestock diversity, among other areas.
Since 1988, SARE has funded nearly 5,000 projects with grants for farmers, ranchers, extension
agents and university educators, researchers, nonprofits, students, and communities. Research and
education grants, generally ranging from $60,000 to $150,000, fund projects that usually are
interdisciplinary and involve scientists, producers, and others. Professional development grants,
generally ranging from $20,000 to $90,000, offer educational opportunities for extension and
NRCS, and for other agricultural professionals. Producer grants, typically between $1,000 and
$15,000, go to farmers and ranchers who “test innovative ideas and share the results with their
neighbors.”206 No individual organization matching funds are required. Program funds also
support the dissemination of information on sustainable agriculture through clearinghouses such
as the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center at USDA’s National Agricultural Library,
and the Sustainable Agriculture Network.
The program originated with a $3.9 million appropriation in FY1988. In recent years, funding for
project grants has totaled $14.5 million (FY2010); $13.5 million (FY2011); and $14.0 million
(estimated FY2012). State-by-state summaries and profiles of the SARE grants portfolio are
available at SARE’s website.207
Nutrition and Education
Farm to School Program
USDA’s Farm to School program was authorized in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010,
which amended the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA).208 The program is
part of USDA’s child nutrition discretionary grants and its goals are geared toward increasing fruit
and vegetable consumption among students, supporting local farmers and rural communities, and
providing nutrition and agriculture education to school districts and farmers. The program is
administered by FNS.
The Farm to School program provides competitive grants and technical assistance to eligible
schools,209 state and local agencies, ITOs, agricultural producers or groups of agricultural

205 P.L. 101-624, §§ 1619-1624; 7 U.S.C. § 5801 and 7 U.S.C § 5812 (CFDA# 10.215). Originally part of P.L. 99-198,
Subtitle C (Agricultural Productivity Research). Often referred to as “Low-Input Sustainable Agriculture” (LISA).
206 USDA, http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/fundview.cfm?fonum=1130 and http://www.sare.org/Grants.
207 SARE, “Grant Summaries by State,” http://www.sare.org/Grants/Grant-Summaries-by-State. SARE’s searchable
database is at http://www.sare.org/MySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=search.
208 P.L. 111-296, § 243, 42 U.S.C. § 1769 (CFDA# 10.579). See, also, USDA, “Legislative History Related to Farm to
School,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/F2S/pdf/F2Sleg_history.pdf.
209 An “eligible school” means a school or institution that participates in a program under this act or the school
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producers, and nonprofit entities to implement farm-to-school programs that improve access to
local foods in eligible schools. Grants may be used for training, supporting operations, planning,
purchasing equipment, developing school gardens, developing partnerships, and implementing
farm-to-school programs. Schools and communities may initiate and support a variety of eligible
activities, including nutrition education, agriculture-related lessons and curriculum, school or
community gardens, farm tours, taste testing, and parent/community educational sessions.210 The
enacting language further ensured that “geographical diversity” and “equitable treatment of
urban, rural, and tribal communities” be considered when USDA awards grants under the
program. The statute also includes criteria for selection, including making local food products
available on the menu, serving a high proportion of students who receive free and reduced-price
meals, incorporating nutrition education, demonstrating collaboration between schools and other
community partners, and evaluating the results. Grant amounts are not to exceed $100,000 per
recipient, and the federal share is not exceed 75% of the total project cost.
This program has not started and FNS has not yet released its request for applications. Funding
for the program is set at $5 million per year starting on October 1, 2012, and each October 1
thereafter. In addition, “such sums as necessary” are authorized to be appropriated for FY2011
through FY2015. Other information on farm-to-school programs is available through the National
Farm to School Network, highlighting activities in each state .211 In addition, the Community
Food Security Coalition has conducted case studies for several states that illustrate some of the
successes and challenges in fostering these types of initiatives.212
School Gardens
The 2008 farm bill also amended the Richard B. Russell NSLA by authorizing a pilot program of
grants for high-poverty schools to promote healthy food education and hands-on gardening in the
school curriculum.213 The pilot program is part of USDA’s child nutrition discretionary grants and
its goals are geared toward increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among students,
supporting local farmers and rural communities, and providing nutrition and agriculture education
to school districts and farmers. The program is administered by FNS.
The pilot program is to target not more than five states and may be used through either a school-
based program or a community-based summer program that is part of, or coordinated with, a
summer enrichment program at two or more eligible schools. The farm bill did not authorize
appropriations to carry out the provision. USDA has awarded a single grant to Washington State
University and is expected to serve an estimated 2,800 students attending 70 elementary schools
in Washington, New York, Iowa and Arkansas.214 The pilot program was funded at $1 million in
FY2010,215 and provides for applications to enter into a

(...continued)
breakfast program established under § 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
210 USDA, FNS, “Farm to School,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/f2s/about.htm#Initiative; also USDA, “USDA Farm
to School Initiative Fact Sheet,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/f2s/pdf/F2S_initiative_fact_sheet_040110.pdf.
211 National Farm to School Network, http://www.farmtoschool.org/aboutus.php.
212 CFSC, “National Farm to School Program,” http://www.foodsecurity.org/farm_to_school.html.
213 P.L. 110-246, § 4303, 42 U.S.C. § 1769 (CFDA# 10.579). The term “eligible school” means a public school where
at least 50% of the students are eligible for free or reduced price meals.
214 USDA, “USDA Announces Funding to Expand School Community Gardens and Garden-Based Learning
Opportunities,” August 25, 2010; and USDA, “USDA Announces People’s Garden School Pilot Program to Promote
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cooperative agreement for the purposes of developing and running community gardens at eligible
high-poverty schools; teaching students involved in the gardens about agriculture production
practices, diet, and nutrition; contributing produce to supplement food provided at eligible
schools, student households, local food banks, or senior center nutrition programs; and
conducting an evaluation of funded projects to learn more about the impacts of school gardens.216
The project is part of the USDA People’s Garden Initiative to establish community and school
gardens nationwide, as part of the agency’s People’s Garden School Pilot Program.217
Commodity Procurement Through “DoD Fresh”
The 2008 farm bill amended policy governing USDA’s purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables for
the child nutrition programs, the Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable
Program.218 The DoD Fresh program began as a USDA pilot project in 1996, with 8 states
participating by allocating a portion of their commodity entitlement funds toward the program. In
1996-1997, produce delivered to schools under the program was valued at $3.2 million. By 2010,
the value of produce delivered to states had increased to $66 million in all states. The 2008 farm
bill amended the NSLA to “allow institutions ..., including the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit
and Vegetable Program, to use a geographic preference for the procurement of unprocessed
agricultural products, both locally grown and locally raised” (emphasis added) and “encourage
institutions ... to purchase unprocessed agricultural products, both locally grown and locally
raised, to the maximum extent practicable and appropriate.”219 This provision is structured as a
preference and does not require states and school food authorities to include geographic
preference in their procurement.
As the 2008 farm bill provision did not define “locally grown and locally raised,” FNS has
generally identified local production purchases under USDA’s DoD Fresh program using the
definition of “locally or regionally produced agricultural food products” established elsewhere in
the farm bill, although this definition does not strictly govern the program.220 When (or if) this
provision is exercised, an eligible “locally or regionally produced agricultural food product” is
“any agricultural food product that is raised, produced, and distributed in ... the locality or region
in which the final product is marketed, so that the total distance that the product is transported is
less than 400 miles from the origin of the product; or ... the state in which the product is
produced.”221

(...continued)
Garden-Based Learning Opportunities,” April 7, 2011, http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/pressreleases/.
215 USDA’s budget justification for FY2011, http://www.obpa.usda.gov/30fns2011notes.pdf. See page 30-10.
216 FNS “People’s Garden School Pilot Overview,” http://www.fns.usda.gov/outreach/grants/
Peoples_Garden_Webinar_Final.pdf.
217 The People’s Garden Grant Program, administered by NIFA, was authorized in the National Agricultural Research,
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act (P.L. 95-113, 7 U.S.C 3318 (b)) to facilitate the creation of produce, recreation,
and/or wildlife gardens in urban and rural areas, which will provide opportunities for science-based non-formal
education (CFDA# 10.325). Also see USDA, “USDA Expands People’s Garden Initiative to Sow Seeds for
Community-Based Agriculture across the Country,” November 10, 2011.
218 USDA, http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/dod/DOD_FreshFruitandVegetableProgram2011.pdf.
219 NSLA, § 9(j); 42 U.S.C. 1758(j)) amended in 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246, § 4302). Covers also non-DoD schools.
220 CRS communication with FNS staff, September 12, 2011.
221 P.L. 110-246, § 6015.
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Community Food Projects
The Community Food Projects (CFP) program (formerly the Community Food Projects
Competitive Grants Program) was created in the 1996 and further amended in the 2008 farm
bill.222 Administered by NIFA, the program provides grants to support projects that meet the food
needs of low-income people, increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own
needs, and promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm, and nutrition issues. For
example, projects linking low-income populations to fresher foods through farmers’ markets have
previously qualified as activities. As authorized, CFP provides grants to “healthy urban food
enterprise development centers” that collect, develop, and provide technical assistance and
information to small and medium-sized agricultural producers, food wholesalers and retailers,
schools, and other individuals and entities regarding best practices and the availability of
assistance for aggregating, storing, processing, and marketing locally produced agricultural
products and increasing the availability of such products in underserved communities.223 Eligible
entities may include nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, commercial entities, farmers,
academic institutions, and other entities designated by USDA. Grants range from $10,000-
$30,000 per project, and require a match in resources. The 2008 farm bill provided CCC funds of
$1 million for FY2009 through 2011, and authorized appropriations of $2 million for FY2012.

Author Contact Information

Renée Johnson
Randy Alison Aussenberg
Specialist in Agricultural Policy
Analyst in Social Policy
rjohnson@crs.loc.gov, 7-9588
raussenberg@crs.loc.gov, 7-8641
Tadlock Cowan

Analyst in Natural Resources and Rural
Development
tcowan@crs.loc.gov, 7-7600



222 P.L. 110-246, § 4402, 7 U.S.C 2034 (CFDA# 10.225), amending the Food Stamp Act of 1977. See NIFA,
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/cfp/ cfp_synopsis.html and http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/communityfoodprojects.
cfm; and USDA, http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nifa4_content.html.
223 An “underserved community” is defined in 7 U.S.C 2034 as a community “with limited access to affordable, healthy
foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables; a high incidence of a diet-related disease (including obesity) as compared
to the national average; a high rate of hunger or food insecurity; or severe or persistent poverty.”
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