Background
Over the past several years there’s been a tremendous growth of partnerships and programs that aim to improve small farm viability and strengthen food security by connecting local farms to food access initiatives such as food banks and other grassroots efforts to address hunger. These “farm to food assistance” programs are taking place across the country, with many experiencing growth due to USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program (2021-2025).
Since 2020, Wallace Center at Winrock International and the Food Systems Leadership Network have been working with partners across the country to study, support, and advocate for these efforts. While LFPA was terminated in March 2025 by the current adminstration, the relationships, values, and commitments of F2FA partners in communities across the nation remain in place. The goal of the FSLN is to keep building on that momentum by connecting F2FA leaders with one another, amplifying the great work happening on the ground, and advocating for F2FA strategies for the long haul. Read on for a summary of our work in this area, to access the many knowledge products we’ve co-created as a network, and to plug in to the national F2FA Community of Practice and other opportunities to connect!
How to get involved
- F2FA Community of Practice (CoP) Calls: Join our monthly CoP calls! These 90-minute calls occur on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 12:00 pm PT/ 2:00 pm CT/ 3:00 pm ET and will provide you with a virtual space to connect with others, gain practical skills, stay updated with advocacy efforts, and troubleshoot common challenges. Register here!
- Check out the Farm to Food Assistance Resource Library. And add your own resources to the library by submitting them here.
- F2FA Discussion Group: Connect with other people working on F2FA value chains across the nation. Use the F2FA Discussion Group to share news, resources, best practices, and work through common challenges related to F2FA programming. (To leave comments, you will need to login or register for an FSLN account at www.foodsystemsleadershipnetwork.org/register.)
- Attend Growing Stronger Communities: Sustainable Agriculture for Nutrition Security (Nov 5-7, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina). Hosted by our partners at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, this convening for food bankers and community food systems partners will focus on how to enhance local sustainable food systems in affordable ways. Grants are available to bring community members to the event – check the website for more information.
- CALL FOR SESSIONS: Additionally, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is actively seeking session proposals. If you’d like to contribute your expertise, submit your idea here.
Farm to Food Assistance Research and Publications
In 2022 the Wallace Center partnered with Duke World Food Policy Center to conduct a survey of over 300 Farm to Food Assistance (F2FA) programs across the country. The goal of the survey was to increase understanding of the impact, challenges, and key elements of the growing field of F2FA. The survey was designed with input from a brilliant group of experts with a range of perspectives on Farm to Food Assistance work to make sure the survey and results were relevant to the people involved in these programs. In summer of 2023 we released a national report capturing initial impacts, trends and recommendations for the USDA LFPA program and presented these findings, along with the stories of program implementers, to key audiences including USDA and Congressional staffers. This infographic represents a distillation key findings from the survey.
The Farm to Food Assistance Learning Lab (2022-2024) was an action learning program that generated support, coaching and technical assistance for 10 equity-centered F2FA programs across the country. Led by a stellar group of advisors – Allison Cohen, Pakou Hang, Erin Pirro, and Myra Marcellin, the Learning Lab generated deep learning and insights into the programs and models of Learning Lab participants. In conjunction with this, we developed case studies to spotlight LFPA programs across the country that are leading collaborative initiatives focused on sustainability and supporting BIPOC and other “socially disadvantaged” farmers.
Questions? Email [email protected] with ‘F2FA’ in the subject line.