$6M connects Maryland farmers, waterman with food banks to serve more communities in need
MARYLAND – “We do not need to choose between supporting agriculture, supporting our seafood sector, and fighting hunger. We can and we must do all of the above at absolutely the same time,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said.
Tuesday, Governor Wes Moore announcing a new initiative lead by the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
The $6.1 million in grant funding from the USDA will support the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, looks to connect local farmers and waterman with Maryland food banks. “The lessons that are learned in this project and the connections that are made will continue to help those in need,” MD Department of Agriculture’s Mark Powell said.
“We are both helping farmers with the economics of their businesses, waterman, and creating a market for the invasive blue catfish.”
Captain Robert Newberry with the Delmarva Fisheries Association says it’s a great move to market blue catfish as its growing in demand.
Yet, he says the challenge will be catching them and getting them at a fair price. “The blue catfish are varied as $0.15-$0.20 a pound up to $0.80 a pound. We’d like to see them at around $0.80-$1.00 a pound so we can make some money on them,” Capt. Newberry said.
“Hopefully we’re working on that to get alleviated to make it a little bit more affordable for the waterman to harvest and for the processors to go ahead and process.”
Despite this, Mark Powell with the Maryland Department of Agriculture says the partnership is a step in the right direction to make sure no Marylander goes hungry. “So, this is an initiative to really try to build these new connections for the food banks so we’re ready if something like COVID-19 happens again so that they have a ready and local source of food,” Powell said.
Local watermen tell us the partnership also allows them to expand their market reach, which could mean business growth for the industry as a whole.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture tells us funding for the program will go through 2024.
