$520,000 to Eliminate Food Deserts, Grow Urban Ag Infrastructure

At the 2023 Pennsylvania Farm Show, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced the recipients of $520,219 for the 2022-23 PA Farm Bill Urban Agriculture Grants.

The grants, awarded to 20 projects in 10 counties, are available through Governor Tom Wolf's historic PA Farm Bill. The Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Program was created to grow agricultural infrastructure by investing in small businesses to bring operations to a greater scale to meet the demands of local communities.

"Access to food is a basic human right. It should be accessible close to home, not a car or bus ride away," said Redding. "We aim to support businesses to end food apartheid and transform neighborhoods by strengthening food access through urban agriculture and the zip-code neutral approach of the Pennsylvania Farm Bill."

Food production in cities – from rooftop or vacant plot gardens, to vertical or indoor farming – plays an important role in advancing food and nutritional security. The Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant Program works to break down walls of inequality while providing fresh, healthy foods in urban areas where access to food is limited while also exposing young Pennsylvanians to agriculture and the career opportunities held by the industry.

Applicants are eligible for up to $2,500 in micro grant funds, or up to $50,000 in collaboration grant funds, to assist food processors and growers in urban communities to complete projects such as expanding operations, site design, or planning to create community gardens, implementing aquaponic and hydroponic facilities, cold storage expansion, and more.

Over the past four years, the Wolf Administration has invested more than $2 million in urban agriculture. That $2 million investment has leveraged an additional $2 million in local investments through matching dollars. In total, 113 projects have been funded in 19 counties across the state.

"These dollars directly address food system gaps, encourage community collaboration, and create opportunities to focus on the equitable distribution of agriculture products and resources directly to the communities that most need them," said Secretary Redding.

Since 2015, Redding has worked to strengthen equity in Pennsylvania's food system. His efforts include spearheading the development of the Urban Ag program to target investments that address food system injustices and food apartheid and also:

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, he advocated for the Fresh Food Financing Initiative to ensure that low-income and underserved communities were able to maintain access to healthy food.
• Following the killing of George Floyd and civil unrest that followed, Redding made his most direct statement on the need to break down barriers and directly combat the injustices of racism.
• Within the PA Department of Agriculture, Redding commissioned the Project JUST (Justice, Unity, Solidarity and Tolerance) Committee to maintain a working environment that addresses discrimination and endorses respect, professionalism, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
• Redding has prioritized diversity, equity and inclusion work through listening sessions, outreach and programming, including programming at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
• In 2021, he submitted comments to USDA to advance racial justice and equity for underserved communities.
• Redding brought diversity, equity and inclusion in agriculture to the national forefront, amending policy for the National Association of States Department of Agriculture (NASDA) to prioritize equity across state agriculture departments in all 50 states.
• In 2021, Redding spearheaded the formal establishment of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Week in Pennsylvania, the first state in the nation to formally recognize the academic and professional advancement of minorities in agriculture and the food system.
• In February 2022, Redding was appointed to the USDA Equity Commission's Subcommittee on Agriculture

Following are the grant recipients announced:

Allegheny

• Farm to Table, $20,000
• Grow Pittsburgh, $50,000
• Wilkinsburg Community Ministry, $26,625
• OLDCO LLC, $37,821

Beaver

• Crop and Kettle, $50,000

Berks

• Berks County Conservation District, $10,000

Butler

• Butler Area School District, $30,000

Chester

• Chester County Intermediate Unit 24, $2,125

Dauphin

• Redevelopment Authority of the City of Harrisburg, $42,500
• The Salvation Army Harrisburg Capital City Region, $50,000

Erie

• Erie County Redevelopment Authority, $50,000
• Wild Field Urban Farm, $1,679

Montgomery

• Wyncote Academy, $45,815
• Hatboro Academy, $2,100
• Tlush Family Farm, $2,500

Northampton

• Easton Area Neighborhood Centers, Inc, $50,000
• Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, $27,754

Philadelphia

• Think and Grow Farms, $50,000
• Sanctuary Farm Philadelphia, $2,500
• Norris Square Neighborhood Project, $800