Congresswoman Summer Lee Announces over $336K to Adagio Health Inc. to Strengthen Local and Regional Food Systems

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

November 1st, 2023 

CONTACT: Emilia Rowland, Emilia.Rowland@mail.house.gov

Congresswoman Summer Lee Announces over $336K to Adagio Health Inc. to Strengthen Local and Regional Food Systems

(Pittsburgh, PA) – Today, Congresswoman Summer Lee announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service awarded $336,167.34 to Adagio Health Inc. in Pittsburgh to expand and strengthen local and regional food systems and increase the availability of locally grown agricultural products. The funding will be distributed through the Local Agriculture Market Program’s (LAMP)  Farmers Marketand Local Food Promotion Programs (FMLFPP) and the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant program. 

Congresswoman Lee said, “I am incredibly proud to announce this funding for Adagio Health and the EAT Farm Fresh PA initiative. Our hardworking Pennsylvania farmers and our valued veterans deserve our full support. This project not only boosts local agriculture but also ensures that seniors, young families, and veterans have better access to fresh, local produce. Collaborations like this strengthen our community, celebrate our homegrown heroes, and doubles down on our commitment to local, sustainable food systems. This is proof as to what we can achieve when we invest in local solutions. Together, we are building a healthier, more connected Western Pennsylvania.”

“These grant programs support local and regional food producers by broadening marketing opportunities, such as farmers markets, local food hubs, and farm-to-institution programs,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “Not only do these channels provide consistent and profitable revenue streams to farmers, they also increase consumer access to fresh, locally sourced foods across the nation.” 

Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP)

FMLFPP is implemented through two grant programs, the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). The goal of the programs is to strengthen local and regional food systems through projects that support farmers through the creation of targeted marketing capabilities, training on topics such as record keeping, pricing, family-friendly marketing and agritourism activities, and strategies to retain vendors and consumers.

This year, FMPP is funding 55 projects that support producer-to-consumer markets such as farmers markets, roadside stands, agritourism activities, community-supported agriculture programs, and online sales. 

Project Highlight:

Recipient: Adagio Health Inc., Pittsburgh, PA.

District: PA-12 

Project Type: Community Development, Training, and Technical Assistance 

Award Amount: $336,167.34 

Match Amount: $84,054.22 

Total Project Amount: $420,221.56 

Project Description: Adagio Health Expanding Access To Farm Fresh Pennsylvania Produce (EAT Farm Fresh PA). The significant veteran population in Pennsylvania provides a unique opportunity to complement the PA Preferred – Homegrown by Heroes program by piloting a farmers market promotion program benefitting both Pennsylvania veteran producers and consumers. Recognizing the need for additional market access points to reduce barriers for FMNP program recipients and veterans to redeem checks, Adagio Health aims to conduct redemption trends and market analyses, feasibility studies, and farmer focus groups to identify gaps in access, viability of operating pop-up markets across Pennsylvania, and technology integration while enhancing existing Adagio Health market operations and piloting a voucher to veterans’ program. Additional assistance, support, and replicable marketing/promotion plans will be developed from the results identified through these efforts. EAT Farm Fresh PA focuses on benefiting produce farmers, veterans in agriculture, and low-income, high-risk population individuals (seniors, veterans, pregnant/postpartum/breastfeeding moms, young children). Project outcomes include enhanced revenue streams for produce farmers, improved market access with minimal time-cost burden to producers, promotion of PA preferred – Homegrown by Heroes program and increased access to fresh, local produce. 

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 LAMP and its accompanying grant programs are funded through the 2018 Farm Bill and Fiscal Year 2023 annual appropriations. 

AMS supports U.S. food and agricultural product market opportunities, while increasing consumer access to fresh, healthy foods through applied research, technical services, and congressionally funded grants. These projects will support the development, coordination and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and enterprises and value-added agricultural products. 

To learn more about AMS’s investments in enhancing and strengthening agricultural systems, visit www.ams.usda.gov/grants. 

Since taking office in January, Lee, who serves on the House Oversight Committee and Space, Science and Technology Committee, has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $870 million brought back to Western PA, including over $200 million for infrastructure, over $50 million for affordable transit, and over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 1,330 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.

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