US Invests $59M for Independent Meat, Poultr y Processing, Expand Markets, Create Jobs

The Biden-Harris Administration is investing $59 million across the country to increase independent meat and poultr y processing capacity, expand market opportunities for farmers and create jobs in rural areas

The investments support the Biden-Harris Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, which dedicates resources to expand independent processing capacity As

President Joe Biden has said, creating fairer markets and more opportunities for family farmers helps bring down prices at the grocery store

“For too long, American farmers and ranchers have been asked to produce more to meet increasing demand across the countr y and around the world, while they and the rural communities they come from have struggled to see their fair share of the benefits,” said Agriculture Secretar y Tom

“The outbreak had a negative impact on businesses throughout 2020 and into 2021,” according to the report “However, it is expected that the baker y and confectionar y market will recover from the shock across the forecast period as it is a ‘black swan ’ event and not related to ongoing or fundamental weaknesses in the market or the global econContinued on

Vilsack “The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are taking action to advance a sustainable vision of agriculture that prioritizes the needs of our resilient producers and small businesses, strengthens our food supply chain and brings value back to rural people and places ”

Vilsack announced the new investments while touring a processing facility in Harrisonburg,

Full-service restaurants saw the most job losses during the pandemic and will be the slowest to recover, according to the National Restaurant Association’s analysis of the labor statistics Limitedservice restaurants are 15 percent above February 2020 levels while quick-ser vice and fast-casual restaurants are slightly above their levels

Restaurant staffing is notoriously fluid – with constant turnover largely due to the youth of workers and their availability to work But the pandemic brought the industry to its knees as lockdowns and health concerns caused eateries to shut down, if not permanently, then temporarily or with reduced hours

“The last three years have been challenging for a number of reasons, ” said Eric Holwell, senior vice president of strategy at Bayard Advertising, which helps

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