The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday said it’s awarding more than $4.2 million in grants to Arkansas under a program designed to strengthen food supply chains across the nation.
Through the federal Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, the state Department of Agriculture will fund projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. The program aims to provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, to support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, fair wages, and to support new and safe job opportunities.
Under the program, states and territories work in partnership with the USDA to make competitive subawards to domestic food and farm businesses and other eligible entities. A limited portion of funds may be used to develop and/or strengthen supply chain coordination and targeted market development services for local and regional products.
The grants are a portion of up to $420 million authorized for the program under the American Rescue Plan.
Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, is scheduled to announced the grants Tuesday at the Arkansas Foodbank in Little Rock.
The USDA in 2022 signed a cooperative agreement with Arkansas under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. Through the program, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture seeks to purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers.
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