Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA has awarded over $270 million to date through cooperative agreements with state departments of agriculture to build resilience across the middle of the food supply chain and strengthen local and regional food systems. The funding is awarded through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program.
At the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture’s Winter Policy Conference, Vilsack announced Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Utah, and West Virginia have now opened their Request for Applications for the program, joining 28 states that are already offering grant funding for projects that support supply chain infrastructure.
“These unprecedented investments into our nation’s supply chain infrastructure will not only benefit consumers by ensuring they have dependable access to fresh and locally produced food, but the investments will also benefit producers and rural communities by providing more and better markets for small and mid-sized producers,” he says.