Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcement of $130 million in supplemental American Rescue Plan funding for the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP). This funding, which is divided into $65 million for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 each, will promote competition and create more and better markets for local and regional food producers by expanding and strengthening opportunities to sell to institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and settings operated by local, tribal, and state governments.

“As our local food producers continue to face immense financial strain brought on by the pandemic, threats to production due to extreme and unpredictable weather, processing bottlenecks, and disruptions in supply chains, this increased funding will give small and mid-sized producers the boost they desperately need,” said Pingree, a longtime organic farmer who sits on both the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and the House Agriculture Committee. “Through LAMP’s grant programs and this supplemental funding, we have an opportunity to expand and grow local and regional markets, meet consumer demand for local products, and support our nation’s food producers through this tumultuous time. I am once again extremely proud to have helped pass the American Rescue Plan last year—Mainers and Americans across the country continue to reap its benefits.” 

In fiscal year 2022, LAMP will receive a total of $97 million in competitive grant funding to help local and regional food entities develop, coordinate, and expand producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets, and local food enterprises. The total includes the first $65 million of supplemental ARP funding and $32 million in funds provided through the 2018 Farm Bill. Of the $97 million, LAMP’s Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP) will receive $57 million and the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) will receive $40 million.

Pingree championed the creation of LAMP in the 2018 Farm Bill, consolidating and strengthening several existing grant programs frequently used by small farmers (such as Value Added Producer Grants and the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Programs). Importantly, the 2018 Farm Bill designated programs within LAMP to receive a total $50 million of mandatory funding per year, with authorization to receive additional appropriated funding. As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Pingree secured the highest-ever discretionary funding level for LAMP in the House-passed FY22 Agriculture Appropriations bill at $21.4 million, a $2 million increase over FY21.

Pingree was a proud supporter of the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law last March. 

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