TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food was just given over three million dollars and is asking for input on how to use it.

UDAF was recently awarded $3,043,040 through the United States Department of Agriculture to help build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain. The grant would also be to help improve small farms and food businesses and develop new jobs.

The UDAF Director of Marketing and Economic Development Caroline Hargraves said this grant would serve small to medium-sized businesses and producers and would help address distribution gaps in our local food supply chain.

UDAF plans to use the funds by issuing grants for local projects in the food industry, such as for manufacturing, transportation, aggregation, and distribution of locally produced products.

However, not all food groups are eligible to apply for a sub-award grant. Products must be dairy, grains, fruits, vegetables, or aquaculture. Meat, poultry, and animal feed products are not eligible.

While grant applications will not open until later this year or early next year, UDAF is requesting public commentary and input, especially from those connected to the local food industry. The public can participate by submitting their comments on an online survey that will be open through Aug. 18.

The survey asks opinion-based questions such as what sectors need the most support, what would be the best use of funds, and which improvements would make the biggest impact.

To complete this survey and sign up for updates about this program, please visit https://tinyurl.com/RFSI-Survey-Utah.

Learn more at ag.utah.gov/rfsi.