Southern Indiana Business Report
Three farming organizations in the Radius Indiana region received grants from the US Department of Agriculture’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI) to build resilience across the middle of the food supply chain.
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture announced Monday that a total of 17 projects in Indiana will receive a share of $6.7 million.
The Produce Patch LLC in Daviess County will use grant funds to expand its crop production with a new facility that will be built at the 150-acre farm the Produce Patch operates just outside of Washington.
“The new facility will allow us to expand into selling product in the winter months,” said Abby Slone, Produce Patch co-owner and vice president of marketing. “It will increase our capacity for cooler space by about 40%.”
The Produce Patch sells its produce at six farm stand locations in southwest Indiana. Founded 30 years ago by Slone’s parents, Amy and Marvin Holstine, the Produce Patch primarily grows sweet corn, watermelon, and tomatoes. The farm also grows green beans, zucchini, cucumbers and cabbage.
During peak season, the Produce Patch employs about 75 part-time employees. Slone said the grant funds will allow the Produce Patch to branch out into Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) partnerships with Daviess Community Hospital and North Daviess School.
Other recipients in the Radius region are based in Washington and Orange counties:
- Davis Family Farms, (Washington County) will acquire a refrigerated delivery truck, egg washer, grader and vegetable washing equipment. The vegetable and egg wash equipment will ensure all products meet food safety standards and are efficiently clean and ready for sales. This equipment will strengthen Davis Farms’ ability to rapidly take on greater demand when circumstances require.
- Orange County Cooperative Development Corporation will use the funds to increase capacity to aggregate, process, and distribute quality foods captured at peak season for distribution throughout the year. By gathering fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers to flash freeze, dehydrate, and quality seal, the shelf life of local products will be extended. This in turn will help to provide local fruits and vegetables year-round to areas within the south-central region of Indiana. Enhancements offered will include convenient meal kits, ready-made sealed meals, and better access to farm stands. This middle-of-the-supply-chain project will benefit growers, farmers, and consumers alike with more readily available food while reducing product waste.
“We are thrilled to be among the recipients of this grant and honored to be in such great company. It is inspiring to know that we are all doing the work to strengthen Indiana’s food system in new and exciting ways,” said Rebeka Alvarez-Heck, member of the Orange County Cooperative.
The group will use the grant to purchase processing and distribution equipment such as a flash freezer, commercial-grade vacuum sealer and a refrigerated van.
“With this equipment, we will be able to aggregate and process drastically more local food and do so quickly,” Alvarez-Heck said. “We’ll also be able to distribute this food through more accessible means (like farm stands). This helps us reduce waste and distribute an abundance of local healthy foods to our region.”
This awarded funding is part of the $420 million available through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant program to build capacity within the middle of the supply chain and support local and regional producers. It is funded by USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). Through this program, AMS has entered into cooperative agreements with state agencies, commissions, or departments responsible for agriculture, commercial food processing, seafood, or food system and distribution activities or commerce activities in states or U.S. territories.
“Indiana farmers work hard to produce millions of pounds of fruits, vegetables and other pantry staples each year that are eventually shipped across state lines or do not even make it to market,” said Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “This grant funding will ensure more Hoosiers are fed by Hoosiers and that these organizations can better serve their communities.”