Community members who are interested in learning about federal grant applications for the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program can attend one of two sessions in April to develop, write and submit applications. Sessions will take place in April at locations in Morgantown and Charleston.

The North Session will take place on West Virginia University’s Evansdale Campus at the Agricultural Sciences Building on Saturday, April 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A second session, known as the South Session, will take place on Saturday, April 18, in Charleston at West Virginia State University’s Economic Development Center. The session takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Registration is available online at http://bit.ly/AgritourismRegistration. This is a free event, and materials and refreshments will be provided.

Both sessions will be simultaneously webcast (address will be sent to those registering for this option), but in-person attendance is strongly encouraged.

The sessions are offered as part of the Agricultural Marketing Service Technical Assistance Project. It is a collaboration of West Virginia University Extension Service and West Virginia State University Extension, the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture.

According to WVU Extension Agricultural Economist Dee Singh-Knights, the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program is a key to USDA’s efforts to revitalize rural economies by supporting local and regional food systems.

“The grant workshops ensure that more communities and businesses across the country can participate in the competitive grant process,” she said. “We teach you to write proposals that create real economic opportunities and help meet the growing demand for locally and regionally produced food.”

The workshops are coordinated by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Regional Rural Development Centers. Cooperative Extension educators provide similar training in all regions of the country.

The Agricultural Act of 2014, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill, authorizes $30 million annually through 2018, to provide competitive grants and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local and regional markets.

“The impact of programs like this grant-writing workshop can be felt throughout the country,” WVSU Community and Economic Development Specialist Sarah Halstead noted. “We’re empowering famers and producers to find or improve their access to funding sources.”

These investments are part of USDA’s commitment to strengthening local and regional food systems through projects that recruit and train farmers, expand economic opportunities, and increase access to healthy foods.

USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative coordinates support for local and regional food systems. Projects aligned with these efforts can be found on the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass. For more information on AMS visit www.ams.usda.gov, and for more on NIFA visit www.nifa.usda.gov.

For more information on the North Session, contact Singh-Knights at 304-293-7606 or dosingh-knights@mail.wvu.edu.
For information on the South Session, contact Halstead at 619-865-5132 or shalstead2@wvstateu.edu.

-WVU-

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CONTACT: Dee Singh-Knights, WVU Extension Service
304.293.7606, Dosingh-knights@mail.wvu.edu