The latest funding round aims to boost domestic organic consumption and strengthen the supply chain, impacting millions of producers, buyers, and consumers nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has allocated an additional $9.7 million to 13 grant projects aimed at boosting the consumption of domestic and organic agricultural products. These funds are part of the USDA’s Organic Market Development Grant program, administered through its Agricultural Marketing Service.
The USDA highlighted the growing demand for organic goods, with consumer spending on organically produced items exceeding $69 billion in 2023, representing about 4% of total food sales in the United States. This surge in demand underscores the importance of supporting the organic sector, which includes over 27,800 organic farms and businesses nationwide.
Since its inception, the Organic Market Development Grant program has provided $85 million to support 106 projects across 36 states. The USDA anticipates that the new projects funded by this latest round of grants will positively impact more than 119 million producers, buyers, and consumers across the country.
Among the initiatives receiving funding is The Turning Green project based in Sausalito, California. This project aims to strengthen the organic supply chain by connecting school food networks with small, underserved organic farmers and local agricultural support organizations. The project will also provide training and technical assistance to school food service teams and organic farmers, with the goal of increasing the availability of organic products in schools.
Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, emphasized the significance of these investments in a recent news release. “This final round of awards through the Organic Market Development Grant program marks an unprecedented investment into our nation’s organic industry, and we will see the impacts of this funding for years to come,” she stated. Moffitt also noted that the funded projects are making considerable progress in expanding market opportunities for organic businesses, while also ensuring that producers and processors have the necessary infrastructure to meet the rising consumer demand for organic products.
