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Farm and food projects, including one in Westmoreland, get a boost from the state

On June 13, Governor Youngkin announced 11 grants to support local food and farming projects across the state. The total $214,000 is supporting a variety of projects in rural and urban areas, from a food truck to a commercial kitchen to shellfish processing. One of the 11 grants goes to Westmoreland County:

Craft Beverage Support, Westmoreland County
$25,000
Westmoreland County is pursuing the tourism- and local food-focused community development strategy of recruiting a new brewery and pub to downtown Montross. A vacant, former retail facility will be renovated into the new home of Northern Neck Brewing Company with the goal of creating a family-friendly destination for tourists and residents alike. Funding will be used to purchase brewery equipment and will leverage nearly $250,000 in additional investment to create a new brewery and pub focused on locally sourced produce, meat, and seafood.

The announcement kicks off Virginia Ag Week.

About the grant program:

Created in 2021 and administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the AFID Infrastructure Grant Program makes awards of up to $25,000 in partnership with local governments to develop community infrastructure supporting local food production and sustainable agriculture. Applications for the next round of this semi-annual grant program will be accepted from October 1 through November 15 of this year, with the award announcement to be made in December. Additional information about the Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Infrastructure program is available here. Questions about the program should be directed to Jennifer.Perkins@vdacs.virginia.gov.

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