Purchase and distribute local foodtargeting purchases from socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers

The Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service awarded $600,000 to the Government of Guam Department of Administration under the Pandemic Relief Activities: Local Food Purchase Agreements with States, Tribes, and Local Governments program (CFDA 10.182) on June 15, 2022 to support local food purchases and distribution through June 15, 2024. Under the cooperative agreement, the Government of Guam Department of Agriculture will purchase food from the Farmers' Cooperative Association of Guam, whose members are socially disadvantaged farmers. The purchased food items will be distributed directly to underserved communities through an established food bank distribution center in partnership with multiple organizations. It is expected that approximately 10,000 underserved family units, or 34,000 individuals, will receive food/produce with each distribution cycle. Quarterly and annual reports will capture metrics including funds expended, number of producers and distribution sites, and percentages of new marketing opportunities and purchases distributed beyond current networks.

The guam department of agriculture will purchase food from the farmers'cooperative association of guam whose members are socially disadvantagedfarmers. The purchased food items will be distributed directly to theunderserved community through an established food bank distributioncenter, a partnership between the department of agriculture guam, government of guam partners, and a local agriculture advocacyorganization. Purchasing the food directly from farmers will provideeconomic growth opportunities while affirming partnerships between thefarmers and multiple organizations. This program also helps to establishindividual farmers, as well as farmers' cooperative association of guam, as reliable consistent producers. This consistency will increase andimprove the public profile of local farmers. Through this programdepartment of agriculture guam will improve agricultural supply chainresiliency, support disadvantaged farmers experiencing hardship, strengthen guam's local food system, and improve health and wellness inour underserved community. Quarterly performance reports will besubmitted to capture the number of producers, socially disadvantagedfarmers and ranchers, distribution sites, and underserved locations aswell as funds expended for each category. Annual reports will providepercentages of new marketing opportunities and purchases distributedbeyond current food distribution networks. Beneficiaries will be guam'sunderserved communities who cannot easily access or afford localproduce. An estimated 10,000 underserved family units, roughly 34,000INDIVIDUALS, within the community will receive food/produce eachdistribution cycle. The recipient plans to subaward funds to thefarmers' cooperative association of guam.