Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan says approximately 10-million dollars in funding will go to the

Farmers Market Promotion Program to help increase availability of local agricultural products in communities throughout the country. These grants will put resources into rural and urban economies to create and support direct marketing opportunities for farmers.

Merrigan says the emphasis is on food deserts because America’s low income and underserved communities need greater access to healthy, fresh food. Priority status will be granted to those projects that expand healthy food choices in food deserts. AMS will continue to target 10 percent of grant funding toward new electronic benefits transfer projects at farmers markets.

USDA, in coordination with the Departments of the Treasury and Health and Human Services, seeks to eliminate food deserts in the U.S. by increasing access to fresh, healthy and affordable food choices for all Americans, while expanding market opportunities for farmers and ranchers.