I am excited to announce that Illinois Country Harvest was one of 19 local food projects selected to receive grant funding from the 2024 Local Food Infrastructure Grant program which was administered by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance.
The new Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program will invest in critical infrastructure to scale up the processing, aggregation, and distribution of local food to meet the needs of Illinois communities.
Illinois Country Harvest and small-scale grain growers across the state lack access to the necessary infrastructure and equipment to mill and process grains. With $26,900 in funds, they will be able to purchase a commercial grain cleaner, commercial grain mill and dust hood and a moisture tester to complete the entire process of a small-scale seed to artisan flour operation. They will also be able to provide moisture testing, cleaning and milling processes and educational resources for other small farmers.
The 19 recipients cover all parts of Illinois and a wide array of creative and essential projects that help local farmers and growers get more products to more markets, more easily and cost effectively.
In total, 247 applicants requested over $23 million in funding from across Illinois.
A committee of 10 Illinois-based agriculture and food system experts reviewed the applications and identified 19 impactful local food projects with whom to provide grant awards up to $150,000 to implement their proposed projects.
We celebrate today the tremendous work that we will be able to do because we now have the funding to support the local system, and get to work on advocating for more LFIG funding to meet even more of the many needs across Illinois.
This grant is made possible with funding through the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
To learn more about the other local food projects visit: www.ilstewards.org