U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.3 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Support Agriculture Supply Chain Improvement in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.3 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Millheim, Pennsylvania, to help establish a singular database and e-commerce marketplace to comprehensively connect and stabilize the regional foodshed supply chain. This EDA grant will be matched with $319,418 in state and local funds.

“President Biden is committed to harnessing the full power of the federal government to ensure our nation not only recovers from this pandemic but builds back stronger,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “This project directly responds to and prepares for future economic injury and emergencies by helping to stabilize the agricultural supply chain in Pennsylvania.”

“The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in supporting community-led economic development strategies designed to boost coronavirus recovery and response efforts,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “This EDA investment supports the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s strategy to combine a series of independent databases into a comprehensive site, offering producers new opportunities to participate in the market and to increase the resiliency of the regional economy in response to the pandemic.”

“Pennsylvania is grateful to receive this CARES grant as my administration continues its strategic mission to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure the commonwealth bounces back stronger than before,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “In our state, which is renowned for its food and agriculture industry, the creation of a centralized database that can directly connect agriculture producers to the market will undoubtedly strengthen Pennsylvania’s food supply chain.”

“The Biden Administration is helping Pennsylvania farmers to build back better, streamlining and stabilizing our agricultural supply chain,” said Senator Bob Casey. “I am pleased that the Economic Development Administration is utilizing funds from the bipartisan CARES Act to help our farms and producers remain resilient through present and future economic challenges.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission (NPRPDC). EDA funds NPRPDC to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law 116-136 PDF), which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.