USDA recently announced that it will be investing $7.4 million in 25 grants to offer aid to the urban agriculture and innovative assembly. USDA released a statement noting that recipients of the grants will comprise of community gardens and nonprofit farms. The nonprofit farms, community gardens and others will see an increase in food manufacturing, will have access to economically disadvantaged areas, will have job training opportunities and will allow business partners to formulate strategies and zoning pitches.
The grants are being added to the $40 million that were invested in various projects in 2020. These grants also support the USDA’s push for urban agriculture and the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP). The USDA carefully selected their participants due to limits in the finances of the grants, the department noted, adding that it could only select the top scoring 10 percent of applications. It received more than 300 applications in 2023, twice as much as the year prior. Read more