Rep. Davids announces $50,000 USDA grant for Olathe organic food business

Pat & Rachel's Gardens, an Olathe organic food packaging and distribution business, received almost $50,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Awards.

Kansas' District 3 U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids announced the grant in an emailed press release on Thursday. The grant program is aimed at addressing food security and could support the economy in the state of Kansas "by bringing homegrown and locally-sourced foods to the Kansas City area all while focusing on sustainability," Davids says.

In March, the USDA indicated it has plans to spend more than $1 billion to reemphasize support for domestic food supply chains throughout the process required to get food from farm to a family's dinner table.

The grant going to Pat & Rachel's Gardens can be used to build up business operations and capacity as well as to fund marketing endeavors. The company sells canned and frozen food with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables.

"Pat & Rachels Gardens is pleased to have been awarded a matching Value Added Producer Grant from the USDA," James Leek, Pat & Rachel's Gardens' owner, said in the press release. "This grant will allow us to expand our licensed, certified organic kitchen so we can scale up production and reach more people. We currently serve our clients in Kansas and Missouri with quality, organically grown vegetables and fruit, soups, jams, freeze-dried herbs, and pickled products. The grant will also help us to expand our internet marketing and CSA membership."

The business also received a Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education grant from the USDA in 2018.

The Overland Park cooperative Kansas City Food Hub also received a grant from the USDA through the Rural Development Awards program. The roughly $250,000 grant is expected to help them grow their locally-oriented food sourcing and processing as well as a farm share project.