Last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack awarded over $52 million to support local and regional food systems and the organic industry through five USDA grant programs.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) awarded over $27 million in competitive grants to expand marketing through the new Farmers Market and Local Food Marketing Promotion Program (FMPP and LFPP), as well as over $1 million in matching grants through the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP).
The FMPP and LFPP grants combine local food, creative ideas and new partnerships with an emphasis on improving food access and economic growth in communities around the country. The FSMIP grant provides matching funds to assist State Agencies in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system.
Check out USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative to learn about other funding mechanisms supporting local farmers.
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