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USDA Promotes Local Food

The U.S. Department of Agriculture here has launched Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, a new initiative geared toward marketing and promoting the consumption of locally raised foods. The new program, which will initially receive $65 million in funding, was announced earlier this month by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. An American people that is

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture here has launched “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food,” a new initiative geared toward marketing and promoting the consumption of locally raised foods.

The new program, which will initially receive $65 million in funding, was announced earlier this month by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan.

“An American people that is more engaged with their food supply will create new income opportunities for American agriculture,” Vilsack said in the announcement. “Reconnecting consumers and institutions with local producers will stimulate economies in rural communities, improve access to healthy, nutritious food for our families, and decrease the amount of resources to transport our food.”

The agency has said that it intends to leverage existing programs within the USDA “to break down structural barriers that have inhibited local food systems from thriving … [and] to connect local production and consumption, and promote local-scale sustainable operations.”

Initially, the program will include contributions from the following departments within the USDA:

  • The USDA's Risk Management Agency will support an assistance program for socially disadvantaged and underserved farmers by helping growers target customers with new direct marketing programs. “For example, nearly $10,000 in funding for the University of Minnesota will bring together experts on food safety and regulations for a discussion of marketing to institutions like K-12 schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and other health care facilities,” the agency said in a release.
  • USDA Rural Development announced two funding initiatives. The agency will award $4.4 million in grants to 23 local business cooperatives in 19 states, in an effort to help rural communities improve their products and expand their appeal within the marketplace. The agency will also provide a Rural Business Opportunity Grant of $150,000 to the Northwest Food Processors Association, geared toward reducing energy consumption and strengthening the relationship between local food processors and customers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
  • USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service division has proposed regulations that would help establish a new, voluntary cooperative program, “under which select state-inspected establishments will be eligible to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce” providing new economic opportunities for small meat and poultry producers, whose markets are now limited.

“Americans are more interested in food and agriculture than at any other time since most families left the farm,” said Merrigan. “‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ seeks to focus that conversation on supporting local and regional food systems to strengthen American agriculture by promoting sustainable agricultural practices and spurring economic opportunity in rural communities.”