Some good news arrived yesterday: on Tuesday, the USDA announced $1.13 billion in funding to support "purchasing and distributing wholesome, locally produced food for food banks, schools and child care facilities."

It's a new version of the LFPA/LFPA Plus grant that our Food as a Verb community is very familiar with by now.

The grant appears to be a hybrid of the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA) and the Local Food for Schools (LFA) grants.

The original LFPA and LFPA Plus grants directed millions in funding to hungry families and hard-working farmers across the US. Tennessee's Dept. of Ag. applied for the first round of funding, but neglected to apply for the second.

(Late to the party? You can read our coverage here and here and here.)

The application for funding can be found here. And yes, because I know you're already thinking it:

The deadline to apply is April 30, 2025.

• More headlines from last week: a Colombian cocaine druglord who reportedly worked for Pablo Escobar was released from prison after 25 years and "is expected to be deported back home," the AP reports.

Fabio Ochoa Vásquez was originally sentenced to 30 years in US prisons, but was released five years early.

It's bound to be complicated, with tons of legal complexities, but at the end of the day, here's the crazy truth:

The cocaine cartel kingpin served less time in prison than Bryan Slayton.

Here at Food as a Verb, Bryan is one of our favorite friends. The owner of Bad Wraps Inc., Bryan is gregarious, hilarious and warm-hearted. We hear Mayor Tim Kelly and US Sen. Bob Corker are both fans.

You'd never know he spent three decades in prison.

Bryan's not one to look back, so I will, briefly: convicted of nonviolent drug charges as a young man growing up in the Westside, Bryan spent 31 years in federal prison.

This means he served more prison time as a nonviolent felon - nonviolent! - than a Colombian druglord.

Upon release, Bryan transformed his life into a rich, generous expression. Starting Bad Wraps Inc. while sleeping on the floor in his mother's home - a mattress would make me too soft, he said - he soon moved into the restaurant incubator on MLK Boulevard, next to Calliope. That's where we first met him. (You can read his story here.)

Today, he's now running Bad Wraps Inc. as a food truck and catering business. (He's no longer on MLK Boulevard.)

He's speaking around town, to classes and students and most recently, for UnitedWay. He's a quarter-finalist for the 2025 Idea Leap Grant.

And, this holiday, he's ready to cater your party.

• The story continues.

We met Bryan through Troy Rogers, who we know and love dearly.

Earlier this fall, Troy, who serves as the city of Chattanooga's public safety coordinator, released a new app + website called the Reentry Playbook.

It's a one-stop-shop guide for every resource someone re-entering society from prison would need. Everything - from childcare to housing to dental - all in one place.

Including food.

The Reentry Playbook lists 20 different regional groups - times, locations, restrictions - serving food or helping stock pantries and kitchens. It may be the most comprehensive resource guide available.

• Finally, an invitation for you.

Not long ago, Kerry Hayes wrote a guest essay on zoning, development and farmland preservation. Many of you cheered.

"Loved Kerry's recent editorial," one reader wrote.

Hmmm, makes us wonder. Maybe we should open the doors a bit wider this holiday.

Want to send us your own words? We've got a question below for you. Email us a response - david@foodasaverb.com - and we'll publish a Readers Write collection later this month.

A paragraph or two, nothing heavy.

The prompt comes from Bryan Slayton, who once said:

"Food is opening up this door for me. It's an avenue."

This holiday, how will food + drink open up doors for you? Where will food + drink take you? What role will food + drink play in your holiday?

Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com

This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.