LEAFF PROGRAM
Local Emergency Assistance Farmer Fund
If you’re a small-scale emerging farmer within 200 miles of the Twin Cities and are looking to expand into wholesale markets, the LEAFF program may be able to offer you assistance.
LEAFF is not a grant, but a guarantee to buy a specific dollar amount of produce from each accepted farm during the farm season, dependent on funding.
Program focus
What LEAFF Does for Others
Market Access
LEAFF was created to help small-scale emerging farmers survive the loss of their typical markets due to the pandemic. Now, LEAFF serves as a model farm to food shelf program, and is a proven on-ramp to wholesale market access. LEAFF is not a grant, but a guarantee to buy a set dollar amount of produce from each farm accepted into the program. Farms complete a brief application to participate which is reviewed by program partners.
Hunger Relief Support
The food purchased is donated to food shelves and other hunger relief organizations striving to offer fresh and culturally relevant produce to their communities. Efforts will focus on areas where healthy foods have been inaccessible and neighborhoods with a higher density of BIPOC residents because rates of food insecurity disproportionately affect these populations.
LEAFF APPLICATION
Get the Help You Need to Succeed
Applications are now closed. Sign up to be notified about the 2024 season.
Did you know?
Since LEAFF began in 2020, we have purchased $1,072,000 in produce from 120 emerging farmers. This translates to over 592,000 pounds of fresh produce donated to our hunger relief partners.
LEAFF PROGRAM
Frequently Asked Questions
The Good Acre’s LEAFF program serves as a vital resource for emerging farmers, promoting sustainability, market access, community engagement, and food security while addressing the unique needs and challenges faced by farmers of color. If you’d like to be a part of the program next growing season, please click the button below.
Make a donation today! You can also help spread the word about the program to your network, or call your legislative representatives and ask them to support funding for LEAFF.
Yes! To have this page translated to Somali, Hmong or other Southeast Asian languages, contact Xiong Thao. For Spanish, contact Aaron Blyth.
The application is currently open to any farmers who fall into the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s definition of an emerging farmer (PDF). Applications to the LEAFF program are open to all emerging farmers, selections are made by the Farmer Evaluation subcommittee based on farmer need and funding availability.
If accepted into the LEAFF program, the amount of produce we will purchase from you depends on program funding. For the 2023 season the guaranteed amount is $5,000 per farm in the program.
Farmers who applied for LEAFF received notification of acceptance into the program in May 2023. Applications for LEAFF for this year are now closed, to be notified when applications open up next year, please fill out this form.
We will let you know at the same time we let you know if you’ve been accepted into the program.
LEAFF will buy whatever produce you wish to sell each week, provided it is on the LEAFF Accepted Produce List.
Produce must be packaged according to the LEAFF Accepted Produce List. All produce is priced by the full box. Smaller quantities and mixed boxes cannot be accepted at this time.
Produce is delivered to The Good Acre, 1790 Larpenteur Ave. W. Receiving days and times for 2023 are 8am – 3pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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BY THE NUMBERS
LEAFF Status Dashboard
program contacts
We’re Here to Help
Xiong Thao
PROGRAM GOAL
Equity in the Food System
Thanks to Our Program Partners
