BY JOSH DAVISNorth Country This Week

CANTON— Nature’s Storehouse will receive nearly $100,000 in grant money to purchase new equipment.

The Canton health food store will receive $98,000 through the United States Department of Agriculture Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant program, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Associate Director of Public Information Hanna Birkhead said Wednesday, Nov. 12. 

The grant program focuses on increasing the supply of New York-sourced food products available in the state’s markets.

The money is being administered through the Farm and Food Growth Fund, which helps develop projects related to  dairy modernization, aquaculture, and enhancing the “middle” of the food supply chain, which refers to the processing, aggregation, storage, wholesaling, or distribution of products,” according to information published online by the agency.

Nature’s Storehouse is one of two North Country businesses receiving a total of $198,000 through the awards. 

Overflow Creamery, a startup cheese maker based in the Adirondacks, will receive the remaining portion of North Country’s equipment grant money. 

“The ability to purchase critical new equipment will be a game changer for so many farm and food businesses and will allow them to get more fresh, local foods to New Yorkers. I congratulate all of the awardees and look forward to seeing the impact these projects have on our communities,” New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said. 

The program is funded under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) of 2021, and with allocations made to all 50 states plus districts and commonwealths, the goals are to expand each state’s middle-chain capacity and infrastructure for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of targeted local and regional agricultural food products. Meat, poultry, cannabis, animal food and forage, fiber, and wild caught seafood products are not considered under this program, which will continue for three years and conclude in 2027. 

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