19 Food Infrastructure Projects Get State Grants
Share in $1.8 million pool to rebuild local food logistics
Logistics Funds to Accelerate Local Food Growth
Illinois Stewardship Alliance on Wednesday announced that 19 farms, businesses and organizations will share in a pool of $1.8 million under the Local Food Infrastructure Grant (LFIG) program enacted and implemented by the Illinois government last year.
The Alliance is the state’s leading non-profit state policy advocate for our farm and food communities, and the enactment of this program was one of its biggest legislative victories in 2023. It addresses one of the most crucial issues facing farmers in Illinois’ food system: a lack of critical infrastructure such as mills, food hubs, livestock processing facilities, refrigeration, trucking, and community kitchens to get food from their farms to the schools, institutions and communities that need it most.
There was a time when most food was local food, and communities in Illinois and across the U.S. bustled with facilities such as these. But over the course of the 20th century, improvements in rapid transportation, the rise of supermarket chains and broad-scale distributors, the centralization of food processing, and the increasing dominance of the “conventional” food system caused much of this local food infrastructure to wither.
Local food has been making a comeback at an accelerating pace through this first quarter of the 21st century, driven by rising consumer interest in food that is better for people and the planet, and a growing community of farmers seeking to produce such food. But the gaps in local food infrastructure have hindered even more rapid growth.
The Illinois Local Food Infrastructure Grant is a historic commitment by the state government to address these needs, and the Alliance and its legislative allies this year are pursuing a permanent authorization of the program.
The grants were announced in a live-streamed news conference Wednesday that included Alliance officials, state lawmakers and grant recipients. Click below to view the recording of the event, and keep scrolling to read the Alliance’s news release that identifies all of the recipients and their projects.
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19 local food projects receive a share of $1,800,000 to strengthen Illinois’ local food system.
With funding provided by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Illinois Stewardship Alliance is excited to help 19 local food projects get the funds they need to strengthen the local food system and increase access to agricultural products grown and raised in Illinois.
The Local Food Infrastructure Grant provides farms, food business, institutions, cooperatives, and more help with investment in local food infrastructure and equipment necessary to scale up the processing, aggregation, and distribution of local food raised or grown in Illinois.
In total, 247 applicants requested more than $23 million in funding from across the Prairie State.
A committee of 10 Illinois-based agriculture and food system experts reviewed the applications and identified 19 impactful local food projects with whom to provide grant awards up to $150,000 apiece to implement their proposed projects.
A few examples of how local farmers plan to use the Local Food Infrastructure Grant to strengthen the local food system and increase access to agricultural products grown and raised in Illinois:
LEAF Food Hub, helping a dozen southern Illinois farms reach local communities. The $79,887 granted will help purchase equipment needed to reduce waste, improve farmer revenue and feed more people.
Terripin Farms, serving over 15 farms in Adams County. The $150,000 will allow Terripin Farms to create a value-added processing and storage facility, which will help them and many small farmers create less waste and value-added products to sell, expanding local foods in Illinois, which would not be possible without the grant.
Allen’s Farm Quality Meats, serving farmers and ranchers since 1986. The $150,000 in funds will allow them to improve their facility and equipment, which will help increase capacity to serve additional farms in the region.
Just Roots, serving the South Side of Chicago and South Suburbs. The $70,000 will allow Just Roots to purchase a refrigerated delivery vehicle and expand on-site cold storage, which will help them to distribute fresh produce to community members with accessibility needs, and collaborate with other nearby farms to aggregate and distribute fresh food.
2024 Local Food Infrastructure Grant Recipients (location in parentheses)
Allen’s Farm Quality Meats – improve meat processing facility and equipment (Homer)
Central Illinois FarmFED Coop – build out processing infrastructure and retail space for cooperative (Mt. Pulaski)
Demange Family Farms – build out a processing, storage, and distribution facility (St. Jacob)
Down at the Farms – Expand cold storage and distribution capabilities (Fairbury)
The Flock Farm – Build a USDA poultry processing facility (Anna)
Fuller Park Community Development DBA Eden Place – Build a food aggregation facility (Chicago)
Funks Grove Heritage Fruits & Grains – establish grain milling and processing facility (Shirley)
Garlic Breath Farm – Improve accessibility to farm stand (Elburn)
Illinois Country Harvest – establish grain milling and processing facility (Prairie du Rocher)
Jo Daviess Local Foods – establish a food distribution center (Jo Daviess County)
Just Roots – increase cold storage and distribution capabilities (Chicago)
LEAF Food Hub – increase food hub efficiency and capacity with upgraded equipment (Carterville)
Living Light Farms – increase cold storage and distribution capacity particularly for meat (Paxton)
Palomares Social Justice Center – increase access to fresh foods with more cold storage (Rock Island)
Sola Gratia Farm – (Urbana)
Terripin Farms – build out a shared processing, storage, aggregation and distribution facility (Quincy)
Tulip Tree Gardens – improve delivery capabilities with a new refrigerated vehicle (Beecher)
Urban Acres – collaborating with St Paul Episcopal Church, build out a shared commissary kitchen (Peoria)
Urban Growers Collective – increase cold storage and post-harvest processing capacity (Chicago)
A special thank you to the Illinois Department of Agriculture for the financial support that made this possible, the 2024 Local Food Infrastructure Grant Review Committee for their time and dedication, our partner organizations for promotion the Local Food Infrastructure Grant, Alliance members for their ongoing support, and all of the Illinois local food producers and food business creating a healthier, more resilient food system.
Congratulations to all of the farmers and food businesses! There's so much more need for an ongoing program to invest in local food supply chain.