USDA to Invest $1B in Climate Smart Commodities, Expanding Markets, Strengthening Rural America
The USDA is investing $1 billion in partnerships to support America's climate-smart farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. The Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities opportunity will finance projects that create market opportunities for U.S. agricultural and forestry products that use climate-smart practices and include ways to measure and verify greenhouse gas benefits.
National Restaurant Association Pushes to Replenish Restaurant Revitalization Fund
The National Restaurant Association released new survey data highlighting the devastating impact the omicron variant has had so far, and the positive impact the Restaurant Revitalization Fund had on the industry. In a letter to Congress, the Association highlighted that the first round of funding saved more than 900,000 jobs and helped 96% of recipients of a grant stay in business.
Making Rhode Island's Food System More Sustainable and Resilient
Julianne Stelmaszyk, director of food strategy for Rhode Island Commerce, said that over the past decade the state has steadily nurtured a more locally based food system, seeing a marked increase in new and beginning farmers, immigrant food producers entering the field, and aquaculture. Over the past five years, the state has invested more than $25 million in food, farm and fish businesses through grants, small business loans, and tax credits.
D.C. Mayor Bowser Launches New $40M "Bridge Fund" to Support Small Businesses
Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development announced a new $40 million round of the Bridge Fund Grant Program that will provide financial support to brick and mortar businesses grappling with the COVID-19 public health emergency in the restaurant, entertainment, and retail sectors.
USDA Invests $1.4B to Support Rural Businesses and Economies
The funding will help people and businesses in diverse communities and industries throughout 49 states, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. It will help companies hire more workers and open the door to new economic opportunities for communities and people who have lacked access to critical resources and financing. And it will help entrepreneurs, business cooperatives, and farmers in nearly every state create jobs, grow businesses and find new and better markets.
New Report Recommends Financial Innovations to Accelerate Sustainable Agriculture
The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture released a new report, Financial Innovations to Accelerate Sustainable Agriculture: Blueprints for the Value Chain, highlighting the need for innovative financial mechanisms and incentive strategies to accelerate the transition to sustainable agriculture.
Hub for Food Startups Planned in Chicago, IL
The city-owned property will be handed to developer Urban Equities in a $1 sale, officials said. In exchange, the company plans a $4.6 million investment to turn it into Soul City Kitchens, an incubator drawing on interest in food-related ventures along 51st Street between State Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
USDA Highlights Key Work in 2021 to Create More and Better Markets
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack issued a statement highlighting key accomplishments of the Department of Agriculture in addressing supply chain disruptions the agricultural sector experienced during the pandemic. Secretary Vilsack identified a wide range of improvements that will produce a more diversified food system that more fairly serves farmers, ranchers, and consumers.
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