The Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service awarded a $1,353,055 Regional Food System Partnerships grant to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center on October 31, 2021 to fund the Oklahoma Local Agriculture Collaborative (OLAC) through October 30, 2024. OLAC will strengthen and grow the capacity of Oklahoma's local agriculture through three main initiatives - improving communication and access to underutilized resources, developing technical support systems to foster innovative practices, and creating a statewide registration and membership network for producers and direct-to-consumer markets.
Key products and services include developing a digital resource hub, providing virtual and in-person regional trainings, and technical resources for business expansion. Sub-awards were provided to Healthy Oklahomans Nutrition Alliance Inc. to assist with developing agripreneurship learning modules, an industry best practices directory, and organized training workshops. Langston University will also assist by developing similar agripreneurship resources and financial management tools to help farmers build budgets and plans. Both sub-awardees will support OLAC's goal of expanding local agriculture capacity across Oklahoma.
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