White House and USDA announce new Urban Service Centers and Urban County Committees

Key Takeaways

On July 21, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced 17 new Urban Service Centers and 10 new urban county committees. These committees will increase market access and revenue streams for urban farmers while simultaneously giving county residents greater access to locally grown, healthy foods.

Urban Service Centers will allow county residents to work directly with USDA staff to learn how USDA can support urban farming. These service centers will be staffed by Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employees. Urban Service Centers are valuable resources for counties, as they guide farmers towards programs most suited to their needs and can assist county residents’ access federal resources.

Urban county committees will support the local administration of FSA programs, allow for grassroots input on federal farm programs and help educate counties about new programs and strategies.  

To help strengthen these new programs, USDA is investing $40 million into partnerships with community-based organizations in urban counties. These partnerships will conduct outreach, research, education and technical assistance to support urban farmers. In Philadelphia County, USDA is working with Pasa Sustainable Agriculture to hold regular community workshops, offering custom training and workshops for resident’s needs, and providing technical assistance to enroll in USDA programs. USDA is also working with universities to collect and analyze data to reveal program effectiveness and barriers to successful implementation.

Counties support USDA’s efforts to bolster urban agriculture. Urban agriculture is an important part of the establishment of resilient local food systems. Counties also support the promotion of healthy diets through strengthening infrastructure and incentives for urban farmers. Finally, NACo supports local food production that sells directly to consumers and urges federal and congressional partners to continue providing support for these producers. NACo will continue to provide updates on federal resources available to county governments interested in supporting urban agriculture in their communities.