LANSING — The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced a new grant program Tuesday that officials say will help transport food to underserved communities.
The Last Food Mile initiative will provide $100,000 to help farmers move products to their final destinations more easily.
MDARD Director Tim Boring said that the initiative could benefit farmers, customers and communities.
“We’re continuing to work on building out opportunities to strengthen regional food systems,” Boring said. “It’s the product of a lot of conversations with growers and stakeholders, and just how we build stronger and healthier communities across the state, while at the same time addressing farm profitability concerns.”
Boring says the program is part of more than $700,000 that the department has recently put toward local food access.
That includes aid for some Michigan farmers and investments in food distribution infrastructure.
Boring described the initiatives as “putting together the connective tissue in a real way that’s going to make a difference for not only Michigan farms, but for the food that’s on people’s plates.”
Applications for the grant opened this week and run through Feb. 6. More information can be found with MDARD here.