Meet Triple H Ranch, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and horse rescue located on the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. They have big dreams of improving food security across the island by opening a mobile meat processing business. The island currently has no meat processing facilities for its livestock producers, but there is an older facility in need of refurbishing.
Small Grants Seed Big Changes for Local Meat Processors
As the pandemic impacts rippled throughout the food system in 2021, the incoming Biden administration launched the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant (MPIRG), offering smaller processing businesses up to $200,000 to become USDA-inspected to equip them to develop and market products in retail stores and restaurants.
The first round of MPIRG grants awarded in 2021 is scheduled to be wrapped up this September, so my fellow Regional Director, Chris Roper, and I have been stopping by grant recipients during our travels to see if our network can provide technical assistance to help them cross the finish line.