USDA is spending $40.7 million on efforts aimed at boosting urban agriculture across the country.
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced in Philadelphia last week that USDA is also allocating $10.7 million for the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program and $30 million for the Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Initiative. The program aims to provide grants to local entities that “establish and grow local, regional or state food financing programs.”
“Families should have access to healthy, locally grown food no matter where they live, and farmers should be able to access profitable markets and revenue streams regardless of their ZIP code,” Torres Small said.
USDA also plans to create 17 new Urban Service Centers and 10 new urban county committees to help administer programs from USDA's Farm Service Agency.
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The department currently has 2,300 service centers across the country that connect producers with USDA services like risk management, disaster relief, conservation and more. The new urban centers will help local producers navigate programs from FSA and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates USDA and the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued commitment to investing in farmers of every size, in every corner of the nation so they can thrive and continue to produce the healthy food that families rely on,” Torres Small said.
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