The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) administers programs that create domestic and international marketing opportunities for U.S. producers of food, fiber, and specialty crops.
The Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) aims to enhance the economic opportunities for local food producers by funding projects that increase the processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products. These projects should market these products locally or regionally, including those that are value-added agricultural products. The grant supports efforts to encourage the development of such products, assist with business development plans and feasibility studies, and develop marketing strategies for local food and value-added products. It also focuses on facilitating regional food chain coordination, promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to minimize on-farm food waste, adapting to changing technology needs in marketing, and covering costs related to achieving food safety certification and improving related practices and equipment.