WSDA announces awardees of Local Meat Processing Capacity Grants

Amber Betts
WSDA Communications 

Grants support small meat processing
operations in Washington.

The COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that there is a need for more meat processing services for small farms and ranches in Washington, to strengthen food supply chains and local food economies. This week Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) identified grant recipients to support small meat processing operations serving direct-marketing farms and ranches around the state.

WSDA received an overwhelming response to the grant opportunity with 112 applications for the WSDA Local Meat Processing Capacity Grants.  Applications totaled more than $27 million in funding requests. The Washington State Legislature allocated $3.6 million for this grant. 

“We received many great project applications and truly wished for the ability to fund more of the clearly-demonstrated need within the small meat processing industry,” Alyssa Jumars, Local Meat Marketing and Capacity Specialist for the Regional Markets Program said. “We are grateful to all applicants for their time and for their commitment to serving small farms and ranches.”

The purpose of the grant program is to increase access to livestock and poultry processing for small to midsize farmers and ranchers so they can better serve people in Washington state. 

The grants will help the selected small and midsize meat processors expand their capacity to serve Washington farmers and ranchers that sell their meat and poultry products directly to consumers, stores, food hubs, restaurants, schools, and other local buyers.  

A dozen expert reviewers from across the state reviewed anonymized applications. Reviewers scored applications based on consideration of a project’s ability to expand harvest or processing capacity, and provide direct benefit to small, direct-marketing farms. A project’s achievability was also a key consideration (ie: reasonableness of project and project costs, level of planning, readiness to implement, and achievability on the timeline).  

Grants were available in two categories: “Small Projects” and “Large Projects.” Given the amount of applications, reviewers agreed to fund a larger number of small projects, even at much smaller amounts – in order to spread resources as widely as possible across the state. Geographic areas with particularly limited access to meat processing services received additional consideration and funds for top-scoring projects. WSDA awarded 36 projects in the “small projects” category among 22 different counties in Washington. 

In the large projects category, reviewers funded the highest-scoring projects at an amount that will allow them to significantly expand capacity and make a notable impact. WSDA awarded four projects in this category in as many counties. 

For more information about the awards, visit our grants page. These grants contribute to a larger WSDA initiative to Focus on Food. This initiative supports Washington’s food system and works to ensure that safe, nutritious food is effectively produced, distributed, and delivered to people who want and need it.