The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement last week of a new regional food business center aimed at strengthening food supply chains in the Mississippi Delta region will be good for the area's economy, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release.
USDA announced the regional business center, with headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, in a news release May 12. Vilsack also announced the center during "a stakeholder conversation" in Jackson the same day, the release said.
"The Delta Regional Food Business Center will help producers in the Delta region create new and expanded market opportunities, which will improve farm income, create good-paying jobs, and build greater resilience in our overall food system," Vilsack said.
"USDA is committed to strengthening local and regional food systems to provide farmers and producers with more options and opportunities to access the marketplace, which is essential to the overall food supply chain," he added.
The Delta Regional Food Business Center is one of 12 regional food business centers announced by USDA on May 3. The department had announced last September the availability of $400 million to build regional food business centers as part of supply chain centers nationwide.
Each regional food business center provides localized assistance to help producers access markets and link to wholesalers and distributors.
The Delta Regional Food Business Center is a partnership of community-based organizations, universities and community development financial institutions working with regional food clusters and farm businesses to reach new, local markets and build resilience.
This center is expected to work with multi-county food clusters and farm businesses to foster collaboration, resource sharing and the development of cooperatives.
The Mississippi Delta Council for Farm Worker Opportunities, a minority-led non-profit based in Clarksdale, Mississippi, is one of the organizations supporting the Delta Regional Food Business Center. The partnership will convert 2% of all imported food into the region to locally produced food, increasing regional annual income by more than $100 million.
