Local Food for Schools
The Local Food for Schools (LFS) Program was funding for states to assist in the supply chain disruption brought on by the pandemic. The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) received nearly $1.5 million through the LFS program to distribute to eligible schools from July 2023 to December 2025, specifically to purchase unprocessed and minimally processed local foods for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. LFS strengthened Nebraska’s food system by helping to build a competitive and resilient local food chain and expand local and regional markets with an emphasis on small businesses.
Learn more about the LFS Program and its impact on Nebraska farmers and schools in our Impact Report
This map shows Nebraska LFS participants, including: (1) schools with funds available to spend in SY2025, and (2) vendors who have sold allowable local products to schools since August 2023.
Resources
Local Food for Schools Round 1 Summary
MarketMaker is a database featuring a diverse community of food-related businesses: buyers, farmers/ranchers, fisheries, farmers markets, processors/packers, and more. MarketMaker provides simple yet powerful search tools to connect with others across the production and distribution chain, and is a great resource for connecting schools to local produce. Learn more and register at: https://ne.foodmarketmaker.com