Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Announces $520,000 To Eliminate Food Deserts And Grow Urban Ag Infrastructure

Applicants are eligible for up to $2,500 in micro grant funds, or up to $50,000 in collaboration grant funds, to assist food processors and growers in urban communities

Pennsylvania Press Room
01/10/2023

Excerpt:

Harrisburg, PA – At the 2023 Pennsylvania Farm Show today, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced the recipients of $520,219 for the 2022-23 PA Farm Bill Urban Agriculture Grants.

The grants, awarded to 20 projects in 10 counties, are available through Governor Tom Wolf’s historic PA Farm Bill. The Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Program was created to grow agricultural infrastructure by investing in small businesses to bring operations to a greater scale to meet the demands of local communities.

“Access to food is a basic human right. It should be accessible close to home, not a car or bus ride away,” said Redding. “We aim to support businesses to end food apartheid and transform neighborhoods by strengthening food access through urban agriculture and the zip-code neutral approach of the Pennsylvania Farm Bill.”

Food production in cities – from rooftop or vacant plot gardens, to vertical or indoor farming – plays an important role in advancing food and nutritional security. The Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant Program works to break down walls of inequality while providing fresh, healthy foods in urban areas where access to food is limited while also exposing young Pennsylvanians to agriculture and the career opportunities held by the industry.

Applicants are eligible for up to $2,500 in micro grant funds, or up to $50,000 in collaboration grant funds, to assist food processors and growers in urban communities to complete projects such as expanding operations, site design, or planning to create community gardens, implementing aquaponic and hydroponic facilities, cold storage expansion, and more.

Over the past four years, the Wolf Administration has invested more than $2 million in urban agriculture. That $2 million investment has leveraged an additional $2 million in local investments through matching dollars. In total, 113 projects have been funded in 19 counties across the state.

“These dollars directly address food system gaps, encourage community collaboration, and create opportunities to focus on the equitable distribution of agriculture products and resources directly to the communities that most need them,” said Secretary Redding.

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