USDA Invests $7.4 Million in 25 Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Efforts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $7.4 million in 25 selected grants that support urban agriculture and innovative production. Selected grant recipients, including community gardens and nonprofit farms, will increase food production and access in economically distressed communities, provide job training and education, and allow partners to develop business plans and zoning proposals. These grants build on $40 million in projects funded since 2020 and are part of USDA’s broad support for urban agriculture through its Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP). Funding limits only allowed USDA to select the top scoring 10% of the applications reviewed. This year, USDA received more than 300 applications, which is twice last year’s applications.

“This competitive grant program has already had tremendous impacts for communities across the country, and we look forward to partnering with producers and local organizations to support agriculture in the urban landscape while also helps local communities to provide fresh, healthy food,” said Robert Bonnie, USDA’s Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. “The growing popularity of this grant program shows the importance of our broad support for urban agriculture, local and regional food systems and underserved communities.”

Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grants

The Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP) competitive grants program supports a wide range of activities through two types of grants, planning projects and implementation projects. Today’s announcement include 25 selected planning and implementation projects.

Planning projects initiate or expand efforts of urban and suburban farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders to target areas of food access, education, business and start-up costs for new farmers, urban forestry, and policies related to zoning and other urban production needs. Planning projects are expected to provide an early-stage investment in new and start up projects with surveys, assessments, design and planning, business plan creation, feasibility studies, municipal policy and zoning best practices.

Examples of planning projects include:

Austin Youth and Community Farm Inc. in Texas, which will increase food equity in Travis County by using regenerative farming and natural resource conservation practices to double food production on two urban farms.

Living Well Kent in Washington, which will transform the food production system to improve food security and advance equity among historically marginalized BIPOC, immigrant and refugee producers and consumers.

Implementation projects accelerate urban, indoor and other agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers and improve local food access. They may support infrastructure needs, emerging technologies, education and urban farming policy implementation. Implementation projects are expected to expand the work on existing urban agriculture projects with on-the-job training, mentoring, business development assistance, school training in agricultural careers, and by expanding current operations of community gardens and nonprofit farms.

Source: usda.gov

Photo Credit: USDA