USDA Community Food Projects Work to Build Community Food Systems and Improve Food Security

Press Release

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced 27 awards today to local organizations to build community food systems and fight hunger and food insecurity. These awards were made through USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

"Fighting hunger and food insecurity in the United States is a top priority for the Obama administration," said Vilsack. "The Community Food Projects grants give low-income communities the tools and resources they need to become self-sufficient in meeting their food needs while also responding to the nutritional issues of the community."

The organizations receiving awards were selected through NIFA's Community Food Projects program. The current projects, totaling $4.8 million in funding, will fund food policy council training, urban agriculture, new farmers on preservation farmland, promotion of native food sovereignty, youth, urban and rural food production projects and community food assessments. Community Food Projects have been funded in nearly to 300 communities in 48 states during its 14-year history.

The primary goals of the Community Food Projects program are to (1) meet the food needs of low-income individuals; (2) increase the food self-reliance of low-income communities; (3) promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm and nutrition issues; and (4) meet specific state, local or neighborhood food and agricultural needs, including needs relating to infrastructure improvement and development, planning for long-term solutions and the creation of innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers.

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