Organization has budget plan for USDA grant

Published 9:27 am Wednesday, November 4, 2015

As those who often read the Beachcomber already know; VIGA was recently awarded $24,600 from the USDA’s Local Food Promotion Program to study the feasibility of building a cold storage and commercial kitchen facility on the island, with the smaller of the old Granny’s Attic buildings, at Sunrise Ridge as the primary focus.  There has been a bit of confusion about the budget breakdown of that award, so I thought I’d clarify.

Of the $24,600, $9,600 is specifically allotted for a Project Manager who will oversee the project; implement community engagement and outreach; conduct market research, data collection and analysis; write reports; manage the budget; report to the VIGA Board and coordinate the steering committee.

The remaining $15,000 is for contractual labor to provide technical expertise on structural considerations; electrical, water and sewer systems; refrigeration; designing and installing commercial kitchens and sustainability features.

The feasibility study and the production of a business plan will take place in 2016.  Next steps for the VIGA Board of Directors are to put together a steering committee (all volunteer) and then to hire a project manager.

This is an exciting project that we believe holds a lot of promise for agriculture and food security on Vashon.

— Emily Scott