As part of the Build Back Better Initiative, the USDA has announced allocation of up to $1 billion in the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Approximately half of this amount will be derived from the American Rescue Plan.
Projects will include
- $500 million to support emergency food assistance with the Food and Nutrition Service and the Agricultural Marketing Service collaborating to distribute domestically-produced to food bank networks
- $400 million to support local community and regional and socially disadvantaged farmers
State and tribal governments and other entities will be able to purchase food for food bank networks specifically from local and regional producers for distribution to food banks.
- $100 million will be provided in grants to improve the infrastructure of food banks and to expand their reach into underserved areas.