Earlier this year, in response to President Obama's challenge to reinvigorate local food systems, each of USDA's 26 agencies was asked to come forward with programs that can help support this effort...and they did.
It's no surprise that USDA has programs throughout its operations that can assist farmers, help consumers access nutritious foods, and support rural community development. We provide billions of dollars annually doing all this and more. What may be a surprise is that we have programs all across the Department that can cultivate local capacity to strengthen local and regional food systems. We don't need to create a new slate of programs; we need to make sure that the ones we have work better.

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food