KEY RECOMMENDATIONS Support remediation efforts for the meat processing industry:
• Support livestock producers’ access to local and regional processing and markets.
• Expand processing capacity by sustaining
existing small and medium-sized meat packing plants and supporting the creation of new ones.
• Support resilience of the entire supply
chain through market creation and support.
Support and strengthen direct markets and CSA efforts, including building out online sales and advertisements. Promote messages for people to purchase local food:
• Provide technical assistance and/or mini
grants for developing online presence and sales platforms.
• Support rural internet and broadband infrastructure.
• Support consumer education about the
benefits of purchasing and eating locally.
Increase funding and opportunities for schools and charities to continue purchasing local food at a fair and just price in order to grow local food supply chains:
• Build out farm to institution networks to
facilitate connections between food needs and available produce.
• Increase governmental or private funding for institutional purchases of local food.
• Support the expansion of farm to institution infrastructure and programs.
• Cover increased purchasing costs directly
Support farmer collaborations and networking efforts that build more robust CSAs and direct markets as well as support labor sharing efforts:
• Support new aggregated CSAs in development of food safe pack houses where produce processing, washing, and packaging complies with food safe practices.
• Assist farmer aggregation networks with access to value chain software or apps. • Support farmers in establishing communication, crop planning, and growing for aggregation so as not to flood the market with same crops.
• Develop systems for large infrastructure/tool/refrigerated vehicle sharing to assist in produce distribution.
• Support education for farmers and the general public about mission-driven aggregation networks such as CSAs working with low-income community members.
related to the COVID-19 epidemic.
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