Specialty Crop Block Grants

Dear Specialty Crop Organizations,
You can take advantage of a “fruitful” marketing opportunity in 2009! The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) will award 2009 Specialty Crop Block Grants ranging from $5,000-$20,000 for qualifying projects. Applications and eligibility requirements can be found on the ISDA Web site.
ISDA urges you to apply and taste success like the Local Growers’ Guild and the Indiana Wine Grape Council, which both received funding through Specialty Crop Block Grants.
The Local Growers’ Guild, a cooperative of growers in Southern and Central Indiana, received funding for a feasibility study to evaluate a potential storage and distribution system for locally grown foods. The study is still underway and the Local Growers’ Guild hopes to identify key components for successful distribution of local food.
“The demand for local food is increasing, and we are beginning to see gaps in the infrastructure of food distribution,” said Maggie Sullivan, director of the Local Growers’ Guild. “We also want to pave the way for farmers who wish to scale up or combine forces with other farmers to meet the demands of larger volume markets such as universities or hospitals, who are beginning to show a strong interest in local food.”
The Indiana Wine Grape Council works to enhance the economic development of the Indiana wine and grape industry through education, extension and research. The Indiana Wine Grape Council incorporated funding from the Specialty Crop Block Grant for additional marketing of the 10th annual Vintage Indiana Wine and Food Festival. This event promotes Indiana’s award-winning wine and food and will beheld June 6, 2009, at Military Park in downtown Indianapolis.
“TV is a must when trying to get people to an event in downtown Indianapolis,” said Jeanette Merritt, marketing specialist for the Indiana Wine Grape Council. “The funding we received allows for additional TV advertising. WISH-TV has been a very generous media sponsor of Vintage Indiana; however, the additional grant monies will enable us to purchase extra ads that further reach our demographic.”
To learn more about these projects funded by Specialty Crop Block Grants, visit ISDA’s Web site. ISDA would like to thank the Local Growers’ Guild and the Indiana Wine Grape Council for sharing their success stories.