'Our Local Foods' grant covers Bourbon, area counties
The See-Kan Resource, Conservation and Development Project Inc., a nonprofit agency, has been awarded an $8,500 grant for the "Our Local Foods" Program through the Kansas Rural Center.
The grant will allow producers in Southeast Kansas to be linked to various of consumers within the local region.
Funding covers Bourbon, Allen, Anderson, Franklin, Miami, Wilson, Neosho, Crawford, Montgomery, Labette and Cherokee counties.
"We promote farmers' markets and we have a couple of growers who sell to local restaurants and grocery stores," said Brandi Swiler, project specialist for See-Kan RC&D.
This is the first time RC&D grant, which will run for a year, has been made available to the southeast region. "Then we'll be on the follow-on grant being developed by the Kansas Rural Center for following years," Swiler said.
A steering committee has been formed through which seminars and promotions of farmers and producers will be conducted, Swiler said The committee currently has five members, but it's hoped that it will grow to 12 with representatives from all the counties covered by the grant.
Seminars will cover items such as legalities and restrictions, how to make your farm better and helping growers with taxes, a news release said.
"Our Local Food" is made possible by a $70,000 grant awarded to the Kansas Rural Center from the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
The program seeks to spur the development of community-based food systems by creating regional networks of local farms, farmers' markets, food business, agricultural professionals, supportive organizations and businesses, as well as consumers committed to increasing the production and sales of fresh local food in Kansas.
The program is going strong in the KAW River Valley, South Central and the Twin Rivers Regions, as they are currently on their second year of development and funding, the release said.
For more information, visit www.ourlocalfoods.org.