The federal government is spending more than 1-million dollars in Mississippi to expand access to healthy food and improve soil conservation in the delta. The grants could improve access to health food at local schools.
600-thousand dollars of the one-million is going to the Holmes County Food Hub which connects local farmers with schools.
Glenn Holmes runs the food hub and says it is difficult for many farmers to make money farming small plots of land.
"What we are trying to do with this funding is show them if they use the right conservation techniques, they can produce a high end product that can be sold to school systems on those small acres," Holmes said.
Holmes says the money will allow them to stay in operation for three more years and teach farmers new techniques to maximize their yields.
"We want to be an arm for the small farmer in central Mississippi that wants to grow their own product. And that is critical to stay in the ag arena these days," Holmes said.
Another grant is going to an organization that teaches soil conservation to large delta farmers.
Both are part of the Conservation Innovation Grants awarded this year by the U-S Department of Agriculture.
Jason Weller is with the USDA.
"Making sure these farms are not only environmentally sustainable with their use of water and other farm inputs. But that they are also economically sustainable. And now it is about the health of these communities," Weller said.
Nationally, more than 200-million dollars in grants were announced in 31 states.
