U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and U.S. Representative Sherry Pingree, today announced a $250,000 federal grant to strengthen Maine’s organic food supply chain and support independent organic growers. welcomed the investment. Funds from the Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program, awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will help Bowd-Inham organic farm Apple Creek Farm LLC expand the processing, marketing and sale of certified organic products to generate revenue. Helps push up. and job creation.
“Value-Added Producer Grants are essential to helping our local farms survive and thrive. This investment will not only help keep Maine farms in business, but it will also benefit our community. Helping people gain access to healthier, higher quality food and ultimately strengthening their resilience. Collins, King and Pingree said. “These are the kinds of investments that our rural communities desperately need and we are thrilled to see them made in Maine.”
USDA announced 23 VAPG program grants totaling $3.9 million to help producer-owned businesses process and market new products.
VAPG is part of the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), a comprehensive program created by Pingree and Collins through the 2018 Farm Bill. In the 117th Congress, longtime organic farmers and members of the House Agriculture Committee, Pingree and King, made it easier for small farms and ranches to serve consumers through his bipartisan, bicameral law. Drafted the PRIME (Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption) Act. .
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