News Releases

OLYMPIA – Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has awarded $2.7 million in Local Food System Infrastructure Grants to unlock new sales channels for local farmers, lower costs for small businesses through efficiency improvements and increase consumer access to healthy, high-quality and culturally relevant foods.

Laura Raymond, manager of the WSDA Regional Markets Program, explained that “Each of these investments will have positive ripple effects, improving farm and food business viability across Washington. There were many more impactful projects than we were able to fund, which confirms the continued need for this scale of investment in our local food system.”

WSDA awarded a total of six “large projects” across five counties, with grant amounts ranging from $250,000 to $600,000. These projects will enhance food safety, increase processing efficiency, expand distribution capacity and promote the availability of Washington grown, caught and raised foods. Out of 50 “Concept Proposals” submitted, 17 full applications were invited, with requests totaling over $11.7 million dollars ― nearly five times the available funding.

Rianne Ham, Assistant Director of WSDA Farm and Food System Development Division, stated “these large projects reduce significant infrastructure barriers faced by local producers that restrict their ability to sell to schools and other markets in their community. As farm and food businesses face significant headwinds it is more important than ever to support Washington’s vital farm communities.”

Local Food System Infrastructure Grants are projects of the Regional Markets Program which assists small farms and promotes localized food production systems and contributes to WSDA’s focus on agricultural viability and ensuring that safe, nutritious food is effectively produced and distributed throughout Washington.
 
For future grant opportunities, visit agr.wa.gov/grants.