Pottstown, Boyertown Food Suppliers Join Grant Winners

HARRISBURG PA – Farms and food manufacturers in Pottstown, Boyertown, and Reading have won a total of more than $636,000 in federally-funded grants to expand and increase their capacity, Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Department reports.

The money is part of more than $21 million awarded to 77 grant winners statewide, it adds. Funds come through Pennsylvania’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, under a cooperative agreement with U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The program provides matching grants to support food processing, distribution, and aggregation from multiple farms to help meet demand for local, seasonal, and fresh food.

“Pennsylvania is investing to feed (its) future through a stronger local supply chain, which means healthier communities, thriving businesses, more job opportunities, and more resilience in challenging times,” department Secretary Russell Redding says.

Grants also support equipment upgrades, safety improvements, and facility modernization. In part they allow manufacturers to expand product lines, and better connect farmers with consumers.

Three Area Grant Winners

Locally, grant winners were:

• In Pottstown, Horse Shoe Ranch, 3500 Coventryville Rd., $87,841. It intends to upgrade its egg production and distribution infrastructure by adding a flat washing machine, an 840-square-foot walk-in cooler, and a refrigerated delivery van. The improvements are expected to boost post-harvest efficiency and expand refrigerated storage and delivery capacity. Both will enable the farm to scale operations, add four new delivery routes, and support market access for 12 additional small and mid-sized local farms.
• In Boyertown, Keim Orchard, 270 Poplar Rd., $48,745. It plans to improve fruit packing equipment with stainless steel machinery to increase efficiency, meet food safety certifications, and expand its reach into schools, food banks, and distributors; and
• In Reading, Clover Farms Dairy, 3300 Pottsville Pk., $500,000. The company is set to expand refrigeration and product development to grow milk processing capacity, and source from more than 10 dairy producers.

Photo (2013) by MichelleBulgaria on MorgueFile, used by Travels With The Post under license