POTTSVILLE – The Farm Store was awarded a highly competitive state grant of $250,000 to support their mission to provide fresh food from local farmers to residents and visitors in downtown Pottsville, according to Sen. Dave Argall (R-29) and Rep. Tim Twardzik (R-123). The funding will retrofit a community kitchen on the property, which will be used by the Farm Store to expand their food offerings.
“The RFSI Grant Program funding allows us to bring value-added equipment into the Farm Store kitchen that we would not have been able to otherwise purchase,” said Angela Meck, the co-owner of the Farm Store. “With this equipment, we have created additional market opportunities to buy more products from our local farmers. With those products, we can now create new, shelf-stable items like freeze-dried local strawberries, canned peaches, and dehydrated apples. The equipment funded through this grant allows us to support more farmers through purchasing their fresh produce, and it gives us a much larger window to sell that product; providing an improved economic benefit for both farmers and consumers in our communities.”
“For residents of Pottsville, this new access to fresh food in downtown is a big deal,” said Argall. “Congratulations to Angela and Josiah Meck on their work to bring this idea to life. Between this new award, the recent announcement of the Rosalia Hotel at the former Miners Bank building, Alvernia University’s new downtown campus, and the many other new employers who have opened their doors, it’s clear that Pottsville’s downtown revitalization has real momentum.”
“This investment will breathe new life into a vacant building while creating opportunities for more than 30 local farmers and helping bring over 100 new food products to market,” said Twardzik. “The Farm Store’s project is a perfect example of how we can strengthen our food supply chain and support small farms and food businesses right here in our region.”
“Since winning the inaugural Ignite Schuylkill competition, the Farm Store has become the community asset we knew it would,” said Savas Logothetides, the executive director of the Pottsville Area Development Corporation. “Hard work, resilience, and execution are common themes throughout both the program and the entrepreneurs who represent it.”
Funding was awarded through Pennsylvania’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program provides dollar-for-dollar matching grants to support food processing, distribution, and aggregation from multiple farms to help meet demand for local, seasonal, and fresh food.
The Farm Store is located at 113 E. Norwegian St. in downtown Pottsville and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
CONTACT: Jim Brugger