New investments are designed to give local and regional food producers more opportunities to sell their goods locally, to hospitals, universities and government outlets.

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"This means that roughly $97 million will now be available for a variety of opportunities to create a strong local and regional food system," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

He added the funding comes from both the American Rescue Plan and the 2018 Farm Bill will be received by two existing programs; the Farmer's Market and Local Food Promotion Program and regional food systems partnerships.​

"We can use these resources to cultivate regional markets," Vilsack continued. "We can support business plan development for those who are interested and excited about setting up a new market opportunity.  We want to make sure that we continue to create that avenue, that direct link between producers and those markets."

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