WASHINGTON, DC - Tangelo is putting a valiant effort toward strengthening the current food system. Recently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA), presenting up to $400 million for food assistance purchases of domestic local foods and directing funding to historically underserved farmers and ranchers.

“As our nation works to recover, it’s important to acknowledge that our nutrition system had harmful gaps even before the pandemic,” said Jeremy Cooley, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Too often, families with low incomes or in rural areas had a difficult time getting the healthy food they needed to thrive. And all the while, small farmers from historically underserved communities faced daunting, inequitable economic challenges that threatened their life’s work. That’s why we are so thankful to Secretary Vilsack, AMS Administrator Summers, and the entire USDA for developing this critical program to bridge the gap between these communities and local farmers. These are the kinds of innovative solutions we need to truly build back better, and Tangelo stands ready to be part of the solution.”

As noted in a press release, Tangelo is a proven food benefits platform that will allow state agencies to complete their LFPA programs to efficiently strengthen local and regional food systems. The company will utilize its experience as a partner on the entire LFPA pipeline of activities.

Tangelo will also help to facilitate the distribution of food benefits directly to rural, low-income, and underserved people and optimize local and socially disadvantaged suppliers to deliver fresh produce to their doorsteps. Utilizing in-app social needs assessments, in addition to data dashboards on program implementation and effectiveness, Tangelo will work to provide state agencies with the necessary data to maximize LFPA funding effectiveness and create a fair and resilient food system.

As the limited program reaches completion, Tangelo will help fulfill the goal of sustainable change by bridging the gap from LFPA funding to support programs like SNAP or simply credit card purchases.

Stay tuned to find out how this formidable alliance will continue to strengthen the food system.

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