During the covid-19 pandemic, agriculture and food production played a vital role in feeding our citizens

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service awarded $200,000 under the Pandemic Relief Activities: Farm and Food Worker Relief Grant Program (CFDA 10.181) to the Delaware Department of Agriculture on January 24, 2022. The funding will reimburse seafood processors and dealers in Delaware for expenses incurred in preparing for, preventing exposure to, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through January 24, 2024. Specifically, the Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety Block Grant will provide relief to Delaware's seafood industry, which faced significant losses when restaurants and schools shut down early in the pandemic. Primary seafood processors implemented workplace safety measures, retrofitted facilities, and incurred medical costs for employees throughout this period. Seafood processors and dealers also had to pivot their operations away from restaurant sales toward retail markets to mitigate losses. This Block Grant will support Delaware's seafood industry as it continues pandemic recovery efforts through 2024.

While not as big as the poultry industry, delaware's seafood industry includes processing for retail and the sales of fish and shellfish into the restaurant sector. Early on, the shutdown of the restaurants and schools wreaked havoc on delaware's fishery-related industry, with a significant loss ofincome for commercial fishing, shellfish aquaculture, and seafood dealers and processors. Throughout the pandemic, delaware's primary seafood processor remained open and had to enact workplace safetymeasures, retrofit facilities for worker safety, and incurred expenses related to medical costs foremployees. In addition, seafood processors and dealers had to pivot with the restaurant shut down andtourism decline, which did not become fully functional until 2021. Throughout that time, these businesses explored and carried out market pivots from a service-related industry to move into retail totry and reduce their losses. The FY22 seafood processors pandemic response and safety block grant program will provide relief by reimbursing seafood processors and dealers operating in delaware fortheir expenses in preparing for, preventing exposure to, and responding to the covid-19 pandemic.