Illinois Equitable Access Towards Sustainable Systems (IL-EATS)

3/18/25

IDHS has been made aware that USDA has recently reversed its decision to cease reimbursements for IL-EATS (through the LFPA and LFPA+ programs). Grantees will be paid fully for January 2025 and the February 2025 invoices will be processed the week of March 17th. Please note, LFPA25 ($14.7M) continues to be terminated by the USDA. Thank you for your patience as we continue to receive multiple - and at times contradictory - updates that impact our grantees. We will continue to keep you apprised to any new developments.

3/4/25

The Illinois Department of Agriculture is suspending the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA) program effective March 4, 2025 due to uncertainty surrounding federal funding. Recently, states were notified by USDA that LFPA invoices are being processed only for costs incurred on or prior to January 19, 2025. Reimbursement claims submitted for costs incurred after that date are being returned with no explanation or timeline for reimbursements to resume.

More information will be shared as it becomes available. Please check back IL-EATS for updates.