National produce distributor PRO*ACT is proud to announce the expansion of the company’s annual local farm grant program. The grant program called Cultivating Change has increased to $75,000 and represents PRO*ACT’s commitment to creating a sustainable produce supply chain from seed to fork. Farmers nationwide can now apply for funds to invest in their farms and grow their overall capacity.
Applications for this year’s grant program will be accepted until December 15, 2017. Panel review and popular voting will be conducted January 1–31, 2018, and winners will be announced on February 5, 2018.
At the end of this grant cycle, PRO*ACT will have invested $200,000 in local farms from coast to coast. Those funds have enabled past winners to achieve sustainability goals such as rainwater collection systems, building sustainable greenhouse operations, and launching farm-to-school programs.
“The Cultivating Change grants make it possible for local farmers to fund projects which invest in their current and future operations. The improvements pave a sustainable path for the next generation of farmers. We are proud to give back to farms that make such a large contribution to their local community.”, said Max Yeater, PRO*ACT President and CEO.
PRO*ACT’s sustainability program, Greener Fields Together launched the Cultivating Change grant program in 2015. In just two years, the funding has positively impacted more than twenty farms such as Leaf Safari in Manor, Texas. PRO*ACT awarded $10,000 for farmers to build a rainwater collection system.
“With the grant, we were able to alleviate 4,000 gallons a day of water that we were pulling from the city and our community,” said Scott Rickstrew, General Manager.
Complete application guidelines, stories of past winners, and eligibility details are available online at www.cultivatingchange.org.