Delaware has placed its Farm to Community Program in state law, preserving a system that pays growers for food distributed through pantries and other community organizations after its original federal funding ended. Gov. Matt Meyer signed Senate Bill 53 on September 16 at Bennett Orchards in Frankford.
The law gives the Delaware Department of Agriculture continuing authority to run the program with the Delaware Farm and Food Council. Unlike a conventional donation drive, it creates a market for participating producers: approved community outlets receive money to buy Delaware-grown food and distribute it without charge. The state says the program currently works with 33 farmers offering more than 100 product varieties through nine outlets and 113 distribution sites in all three counties. Purchases have totaled $2.3 million since the initiative began in 2023.
The program originated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Local Food Purchase Assistance initiative. USDA describes LFPA as a cooperative-agreement program that helped states and other governments buy food produced within their state or within 400 miles, then move it through food banks and similar organizations while strengthening regional supply chains. Delaware continued its program with state support after the federal government ended its LFPA funding in 2025, according to the General Assembly’s official bill synopsis.
Senate Bill 53 now establishes the operating rules in Delaware Code. The enacted bill text makes food pantries, faith-based organizations, senior centers, shelters, schools, child-care providers and Food is Medicine programs potential community outlets. Applicants must demonstrate capacity to distribute food safely and maintain records, and the department may conduct site visits before approving them.
The statute also sets purchasing priorities. Delaware producers must receive preference. Food from Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Virginia may be purchased only after state money has first been used for Delaware products, or when the required type or quantity is unavailable locally. Administrative, transportation and overhead costs may not consume more than 10% of program funds. The department must publish an annual report covering participating farmers, outlets, distribution sites, geographic reach and the value of food purchased.
Codification does not create an unlimited or automatic funding stream. The program remains subject to legislative appropriations, although the department may accept federal, foundation, corporate and private money. If USDA revives the federal purchase program, Delaware must seek renewed support. The USDA program page provides the federal framework that shaped Delaware’s original initiative.
The measure cleared both legislative chambers without a dissenting vote before reaching the governor. Its practical effect is to keep a formal state structure in place for matching growers with organizations that can distribute fresh food. Farmers gain a defined public purchaser and reporting framework; participating outlets gain a route to local produce. The scale of future buying, however, will depend on annual funding decisions and any outside grants the Agriculture Department secures.
