1.0National Sustainable Agriculture Coalitionhttps://sustainableagriculture.netHannah Quigleyhttps://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/author/hquigley/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="mKKG8WuYEw"><a href="https://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/a-regional-approach-creates-fairer-competition/">A Regional Approach Creates Fairer Competition</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/a-regional-approach-creates-fairer-competition/embed/#?secret=mKKG8WuYEw" width="600" height="338" title="“A Regional Approach Creates Fairer Competition” — National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition" data-secret="mKKG8WuYEw" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script> This blog post is the third in a series taking a deeper look at how federal market opportunities support the success of efficient regional food systems. It looks at how recent USDA investments in regional food systems aim to create fairer competition by supporting small and mid-sized producers and processors, addressing the challenges posed by large-scale federal food procurement contracts that favor a few major vendors, and highlighting successful initiatives like the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) that decentralize procurement and bolster local economies.https://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dairy-farmer-walking-past-cow-no-credit-unsplash-scaled.jpg25601707