Local produce farmers, poultry and meat producers will have a permanent outlet for their excess food products at local food banks through the Farm to Foodbank Act (HB-2879), which was signed into law on Aug. 3 by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
The legislation, sponsored by State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, and State Sen. Linda Holmes, D- Aurora, establishes the Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program (FTFBP) to expand resources for food bank systems across the state while supporting local farmers. It creates mechanisms for acquiring and distributing fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, dairy, and eggs to organizations that provide free food for those in need.
Proponents of the FTFBP say the food supply chains such programs create help to feed communities while also bolstering local farmers and rural economies.
According to Feeding Illinois Executive Director Steve Ericson, the Illinois FTFBP initially began as a pilot program in 2021 with funding provided through a grant allotted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and authorized by the federal Farm Bill.
“The FTFBP concept has been something that we at Feeding Illinois, where we serve all 102 Illinois counties, have been aspiring to for many years. It has a number of objectives, primarily to help support our Illinois farmers and communities, to give (food bank customers) access to more local foods and to capture the surplus food and ‘seconds,’ as we call them, that may be (otherwise) heading for the compost pile but are still nutritious,” Ericson said in an interview with WCBU.
Illinois program requires food bank fund match The non-profit organization Feeding Illinois has facilitated the fledgling FTFBP for the past three years via USDA grant funding provided by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). The program began with just one Illinois farmer, but has grown to now involve around 13 farmers, an auction house and a handful of farmer’s markets. Though the program will now be somewhat sustainable through the Illinois General Assembly’s annual funding, Ericson hopes that USDA will continue to administer the FTFBP.
“We are hoping for a partnership (between) us, the state and the USDA because the FTFBP is under consideration in the new farm bill to keep it going,” said Ericson. “It’s been a huge success for the state of Illinois, maybe more than any other state.”
Source: nprillinois.org
Photo Credit: gettyimages-fatcamera
Categories: Illinois, Business