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Earlier this week, at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced several major developments at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will benefit farmers, ranchers and producers across the nation, including a project in Ohio.

“At USDA, our goal is to provide all farmers, including new and underserved producers, with the opportunity to receive the assistance they need to continue farming, to build and maintain their competitive-edge, and to access more, new, and better markets,” said Vilsack during his address to Farm Bureau members. “Working together we can ensure American agriculture is as resilient as ever and will do so by implementing a holistic approach to emergency assistance, by lowering input costs through investments in domestic fertilizer production, and by promoting competition in agricultural markets.”

As part of the announcement, Vilsack revealed the details of International Food Solutions receiving a $9,575,250 grant to help redevelop and expand a vacant building in Cleveland into a plant with the capacity to process 60 million pounds of poultry. The expansion will include cold and dry storage and two processing lines, generating 227 jobs. International Food Solutions has produced thousands of prepared meals for K-12 students receiving free and reduced-price school meals.

“This week’s announcement is good news for consumers, producers, and the City of Cleveland,” said Jonathan McCracken, state director for USDA’s Ohio Rural Development agency. “This grant will create new jobs in Cleveland, increase domestic poultry processing, and allow International Food Solutions to expand its role in the National School Lunch Program.”

In all, USDA is investing more than $12 million to expand independent meat and poultry processing capacity in Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota. Vilsack announced that Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program grants will help fund the projects.

“Over the past three years we have seen just how important a robust meat and poultry processing infrastructure within Ohio is for our food system,” said Ohio Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Adam Sharp. “These efforts, along with additional grants at the state level, will allow small and medium-sized processing facilities to modernize and expand, benefiting area farmers, consumers and the local economy.”