USDA announced last week that $57.4 million in regional processing grants are expected to be awarded across 40 states through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP), pending congressional allotment. MPPEP provides grants to help eligible independent processors expand their capacity. This latest funding is expected to be spread across 147 independent facilities.
Eligible applicants include for-profit and nonprofit entities, producer-owned cooperatives and corporations, certified benefit corporations, Tribes and Tribal entities, and state or local government entities. Private entities must be independently owned and operated, and all entities must be domestically owned.