NORTHERN MICHIGAN – Four regional businesses will benefit from a grant program designed to expand and retain agricultural businesses in a statewide project.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) awarded Value-Added and Regional Food System grants to 24 Michigan producers, processors, and community development organizations as part of the process.
MDARD received 109 eligible proposals with requests totaling more than $8.6 million. Each proposal is competitively reviewed by a joint evaluation committee that makes recommendations to the MDARD Director for selection of award recipients.
Of those, the department awarded over $1.8 million for the following Northern Michigan projects, leveraging more than $1.8 million in matching funds:
- Field la Femme, LLC (Farm Club)- (Traverse City) – $100,000. Expansion of processing kitchen and farm market with produce preservation, bakery, grain mill, pasta, and tortilla production.
- Lake Superior Oil & Vinegar, LLC- (Sault Saint Marie) – $25,300. Improve production capability to meet the increased demand for new oil & vinegar flavors and infused product lines.
- Lake Effect Distillery – (Escanaba) – $100,000. Increase utilization of Upper Peninsula grown grains through expanded milling capacity.
- Anavery Fine Foods – (Traverse City) – $59,600. Development of egg processing and packaging facility
“Governor Whitmer continues to ensure that every person, business, and community can ‘make it in Michigan,’ and MDARD is following suit by making bold investments into the state’s growing food and agricultural businesses,” said MDARD Director Tim Boring.
“These investments highlight the unique opportunities available to our local food and agriculture businesses while allowing companies to increase capacity, secure supply chains, and implement climate-smart practices. With Governor Whitmer’s leadership, we’re ensuring Michigan is an essential destination for our food and agriculture industry.”
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