During the 2025 legislative session, the Louisiana Food Policy Action Council held a “Farmers First” lobby day that resulted in the passage of a $3 million appropriation.

This funding was pursued in response to the extraordinary hardship facing Louisiana farmers, which has only deepened over the past year. Having witnessed challenges in previous farm-to-institution programs, LAFPAC committed to raising private funds to cover logistics and coordination, ensuring that every possible public dollar from the appropriation went directly into the pockets of Louisiana farmers.

The original intended use of the funding was:

1. Infrastructure grants to farmers to help scale their operations and prepare to sell into programs such as the Local Food Purchasing Agreement (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS), programs we were also advocating federally to restore.

2. Market incentives to support Louisiana families purchasing produce from farmers who had lost critical sales avenues following the termination of those programs.

3. An additional $200,000 in direct fresh food purchasing to ensure local Louisiana food was accessible in communities beyond those with already robust farmers’ markets.

This approach was intentionally designed to stabilize both Louisiana’s farm economy and the families those farms feed. By approaching our food system as a system rather than just a quick fix, we ensure that farm businesses grow and stabilize and that Louisiana’s economy thrives. By purchasing the food at fair market value, not a reduced price OR an inaccurately inflated price, we are infusing sales opportunities into the food system that can create lasting impact.

In July 2025, the appropriation was brought before the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and divided into three separate $1 million allocations: us, at the Louisiana Food Policy Action Council, A program called ‘Farm Ed’, and Feeding Louisiana. As we shared during our community roundtable with farmers in August 2025, we were pleased to see meaningful investment in Louisiana agriculture, although we had hoped to dedicate the whole $3 million to them, and we were hopeful about the possibility of partnership and coordination across the food system. In light of the reduced allocation, our revised use of funds was proposed as $800,000 directly to farmers, $180,000 to families to make purchases at farmers’ markets, and $20,000 for a public report explaining the impact of investing in local food systems.

In Fall 2025, we received notice from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry that the only allowable expense category would be direct food purchasing from farmers. No grants to farmers, no purchasing allowed between shoppers and farmers at markets. While this is significantly different from why we pursued the funding, we chose to meet the challenge head-on and try to move as much Louisiana fresh food as possible through a committed network of markets, farms, schools, and community organizations.

According to LDAF, LAFPAC was unable to use its legal DBA (Louisiana Food Policy Action Council) and was required to formally change its legal name before funds could be disbursed. This process took 8 months, as is typical of a non-profit name change with the IRS during a federal government shutdown. In Spring 2026, we were told that the program would operate on a reimbursement basis, which was new information and contrary to our initially submitted forms requesting the program be an upfront disbursement, due to cash flow. A million-dollar purchasing program on reimbursement for a small non-profit presents a significant challenge. We have an operating budget well below $1 million. LAFPAC does not have the capital reserves necessary to front large purchases, which means we must move intentionally and wait for reimbursement before making additional purchases.

On March 17th, 2026, we learned that the program needed to be completed by June 30th, 2026. LaFPC has spent every day working to get this money to the farmers of Louisiana, but this newly revealed deadline kicked everything into overdrive.

On April 20, 2026, LDAF disbursed an initial $50,000 advance to LAFPAC, with the understanding that the fund would be replenished as purchases were made and reimbursements submitted. We achieved this goal the following day, April 21st. LAFPAC made two initial purchases from approved vendors and longtime Louisiana producers and submitted invoices to LDAF. At this time, LAFPAC is unable to make more purchases until those initial invoices are reimbursed.

At this time, we are organizationally in a difficult financial position to continue operations without reimbursement and have had to make staffing changes because this program has been non-responsive with reimbursement to date.

For Farmers: