Ministry of Agriculture funds $ 300,000 in projects to boost sales of agricultural products grown in PA

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today announced $ 300,000 in state matching funds allocated to 16 projects aimed at increasing consumer awareness of Pennsylvania agricultural products and market opportunities for them. agricultural producers.

“With so many attractive products made in Pennsylvania, consumers don’t have to look far to find fresh, healthy choices close to home,” said Redding. “When they are aware of the options, consumers are more likely to choose local products. Promoting the story behind the food is a compelling way to draw consumers to Pennsylvania products. Once they have made that first purchase, it is natural that they will become loyal customers.

The Pennsylvania Agricultural, Education, and Export Promotion Matching Grant is a 2020-2021 state budget program. The Bureau of Market Development offers this grant to encourage and maximize the promotion of agricultural products produced in Pennsylvania.

Nonprofits based in 11 counties have received matching funds for projects, many of which are regional or national in scope. The department has prioritized projects aligned with COVID-19 recovery.

The projects funded by beneficiary country are:

Adams County – Destination Gettysburg, $ 10,905: Start Adams County Crop Hop, a farm and market experience. A digital pass will encourage visitors to explore working farms and agricultural markets and win prizes along the way.

Allegheny County – Farm to Table Buy local, $ 71,500: Strengthen and improve the local food system in Western Pennsylvania through dedicated public relations and marketing efforts throughout the year to promote local buying.

Berks, Lehigh and Northampton Counties – Nurture Nature Center, $ 39,175: Create a new Buy Local challenge developed within a solid gamification framework by the Nurture Nature Center’s Buy Fresh Buy Local-Greater Lehigh Valley program.

Center County – Appalachian Food Works, $ 2,052: Launch a follow-up to an awareness campaign for consumers and producers, “What is local?” In central Pennsylvania.

Chester County – American Mushroom Institute, $ 40,000: Mushroom Farmers of Pennsylvania’s “Eat Better, Build Better” program will focus on the culinary properties and health benefits of mushrooms, including natural vitamin D. The program will promote the contribution of fungi to soil health and carbon sequestration.

Cumberland County – Farmers on the Square, $ 1,620: Extend reach beyond the city of Carlisle with a popular marketing campaign featuring posters, flyers, postcard-sized materials, road signs, flags, magnetic car stickers, bumper stickers and window stickers.

Cumberland County – Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation $ 1,159: Provide outreach and education to veteran army farmers to help them market and diversify funding sources, while improving access to fresh and locally grown produce for low-income consumers.

Cumberland County – Friends of Agriculture Foundation of Pennsylvania, $ 22,640: Develop educational programs that provide agriculture-focused education to elementary and middle school students in a unique way. The goal is to educate more children, educators and communities to help people understand where their food and fiber come from.

County of Dauphin – Keystone Wood Products Association, $ 6,000: Develop a social media plan focused on the benefits of actively managed logged forests and the positive economic, social and environmental aspects of hardwood production and jobs created by the industry.

Dauphin County – Pennsylvania Wine Association, $ 1,500: Support the Pennsylvania Wine Association conference and associated wine competition, bringing together industry leaders during a time that requires increased collaboration. The conference and competition aid in the marketing of consumers and influencers of Pennsylvania wineries and wines.

Dauphin County – Pennsylvania Forest Products Association, $ 18,000: For a nationwide hardwood promotional campaign to educate consumers about the beauty, durability and lifetime value of Pennsylvania-specific hardwood products. The campaign will promote purchasing decisions that ultimately improve economic and environmental outcomes, strengthening our forest product communities from the rural areas where the supply chain originates to the urban and suburban manufacturing centers where they are located. most family jobs in the industry.

Dauphin County – Pennsylvania Potato Growers Cooperative Association, $ 60,000: Continue to promote the Pennsylvania potato industry to help growers recover from the pandemic. The funds will offset the cost of advertising, supplies and equipment to generate interest in potatoes grown in Pennsylvania.

Dauphin County – Friends of the Farm Pennsylvania Foundation, $ 9,547: Meet the educational needs associated with the annual Pennsylvania Agricultural Show.

Dauphin County – Pennsylvania Vegetable Research and Marketing Program, $ 8,900: Produce new road signs, cultivation stickers used on road signs, styrene price cards, clip-on price cards and price stickers to promote Pennsylvania vegetables.

McKean County, Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group, $ 5,000: Produce PA Hardwood Species Sample Kits. Like the paint samples, these kits will allow recipients to explore, in a tactile manner, the different colors, grain patterns, hardness and other qualities unique to each species of hardwood and for which there is no substitute. . These samples will showcase the exquisite quality of Pennsylvania wood products.

Mercer County – Helping Hands Ministries, Inc., $ 2,000: Address health and nutrition concerns by increasing access to healthier food options from local Pennsylvania farmers to people who live in poor neighborhoods and food deserts.

Learn more about the The efforts of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to promote a thriving and resilient agricultural industry to agriculture.pa.gov.

CONTACT WITH THE MEDIA: Shannon Powers – 717.603.2056, [email protected]

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