USDA, California offer $30M in food supply infrastructure grants
The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service says it will partner with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to offer more than $30 million in competitive grants for projects that will build resilience across the middle of the supply chain in the state.
The department also recently announced similar agreements in Nebraska and Rhode Island, having allocated $2.5 million in grants in Nebraska and $1.5 million in grants in Rhode Island.
These agreements fall under the USDA ARS Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program. Rhode Island grant applications close on Jan. 15. Applications in Nebraska close on Jan. 31 and California grant applications close on Feb. 26.
The USDA allocated up to $420 million in RFSI funds to help strengthen local and regional food systems, according to a news release.
“This partnership between USDA and California is allowing critical funding to reach areas of the supply chain that need it most,” Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA marketing and regulatory programs undersecretary, said in a news release. “The projects funded through this program will create new opportunities for the region’s small and midsize producers to thrive, expand access to nutritious food options, and increase supply chain resiliency.”
The California Department of Food and Agriculture said it looks to fund projects that improve capacity and for processing, aggregation and distribution of agricultural products for domestic food and farm businesses.
“We’ve learned a great deal in the last several years about challenges at all points in the supply chain,” CDFA Secretary Karen Ross said in the release. “We appreciate the foresight and commitment of the USDA to strengthen our food systems at all points.”
