The USDA’s Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) presents a significant opportunity for entities involved in supporting local food systems. With $10.5 million in funding available, the USDA expects to support approximately 150 projects that focus on the development, coordination, and expansion of local and regional food business enterprises.
“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.”
–Daniel Webster
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is offering approximately $10.5 million in funds to domestic entities owned, operated and located within the 50 U.S. states and its territories that sell their agricultural products at farmers markets. The Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), compared to the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP), focuses on promoting direct-to-consumer or direct producer-to-institutional activities.
According to Oregon State University, value-added products are “raw or pre-processed commodities whose value has been increased through the addition of ingredients or processed that make them more attractive to the buyer and/or readily usable by the consumer.” 1 Through this grant program, the USDA aims to assist various agricultural product producers in the creation and production of new consumer products.
Video games, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), are one of the most beloved pastimes in the United States, keeping over 62 percent of adults and 76 percent of kids engaged through various gaming mediums (mobile, console, PC, VR, etc).1 Also, a majority of players have stated the various benefits of playing video games, including expanding social circles through a welcoming and inclusive environment, introducing people to new friends and relationships, creating accessible experiences for those with different physical abilities, and being a way for parents to spend time with their children.2
“Animal models are essential for several biomedical research fields such as cancer biology and therapeutics, neuroscience, pharmacology and toxicology, neurobiology of diseases, endocrinology, public health, palliative medicine, also, in studies in human and animal biology and for the discovery and testing of new drugs, vaccines, and other biologicals [...] Currently, these models address current research priorities, considered as those imposing major global threats to human and animal health.”
– Adriana Domínguez-Olivia, et al., 20231
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), is supporting biomedical research projects to improve the rigor, reproducibility, and translatability of animal models via the development and implementation of broadly applicable technologies, tools, and resources. This opportunity stresses that the proposed studies, resources, models, or technologies must either explore multiple organ systems or be applicable to diseases and processes impacting many organ systems and must address research interests of multiple NIH Institutes & Centers (IC’s).
The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has called for the recruitment and training of EMS personnel to address issues regarding substance use disorders (SUDs) and co-occurring disorders (COD) substance use and mental disorders in rural communities. Roughly 46 million U.S. citizens live in rural areas and are met with significant health challenges, including “higher rates of chronic disease and suicide, worse maternal health, and limited access to care.” 1
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), is offering over $123 million towards an expansion program related to meat and poultry processing.
According to the USDA’s 99th Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, there was an estimated 3.09 billion pounds of total beef exports expected to decline. Also, commercial beef production was forecasted to decline by 6 percent, to 26.5 billion pounds.1 The Processing Expansion Program will assist meat and poultry producers in expanding their current capacity and ensure that the proper safety measures are followed in accordance with the USDA.
"A grove of giant redwood or sequoias should be kept just as we keep a great and beautiful cathedral."
—Theodore Roosevelt
The USDA Forest Service will be offering funds towards the conservation of open spaces and community forests through its Community Forest Program (CFP). These areas must be protected in order to provide various environmental, educational, recreational, and economic benefits within the targeted communities.
Ecological restoration has been defined as “the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.” Traditional perspectives and TEK provide insights into hidden or lost ecological diversity and relationships that tribes have had with their environments.
— Jonathan W. Long, et. al; Ecopsychology 1
The U.S. The Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), is offering a program to promote rural economic communities and climate-resilient landscapes. It will focus on specialty crop issues on the regional and national levels in the areas of food safety, marketing and promotion, research, investigations on pests and diseases, and crop-specific projects addressing various common issues. No federal cost sharing or matching is required.
