Courtesy Photo Cedarbrook Trout Farm located in Harrisville.

ALPENA — The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) announced on Thursday that more than $3.1 million of grants were awarded to 34 Michigan entities through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). One awardee included Cedarbrook Trout Farm in Harrisville.

Cedarbrook Trout Farm is a farm that specializes in stocking fish and public fishing. Jerome Kahn, owner of Cedarbrook Trout Farm, stated that the grant money will be used to add a communal kitchen and expand cold storage and distribution capacity to their operation.

He explained that the money will allow the facility to harvest trout and freeze filets for purchase. Their expansion will also add employment opportunities for the community.

“It’ll make the community more food secure and diverse,” Khan added. “It will definitely be a plus for the community.”

Kahn explained that his son, James Glazier, will spearhead the grant funded projects.

According to an MDARD press release on Thursday, the RFSI program aims to support the food supply chains across the state. Cedarbrook Trout Farm is just one entity among a diverse set of farms and agriculture focused facilities.

“MDARD has been working hard to build more resilient food supply chains across Michigan through our innovative Farm to Family Program,” MDARD director Tim Boring said in the release. “The RFSI program builds on our success at the state level by making further targeted investments in local food processing, aggregation and distribution which means more avenues for farmers to sell in their communities and more opportunities for Michigan families to purchase nutritious, locally grown foods.”

The recent RFSI grants invested in Michigan food hubs, farm stops, fruit and vegetable farmers, regenerative agriculture practitioners, fish hatcheries, food processors and more, according to the release.

Boring told The News that the RFSI recipients all had “compelling cases for how they’re going to strengthen these regional food systems and provide value to communities.”

“We’re really pleased to be able to put out these infrastructure-related portions of these RFSI grants to farms across Michigan,” Boring added.

Boring said that a common ask of agriculture partners and producers in Northeast Michigan has been to support additional capacity for their agriculture operations. Boring explained that the grant going towards Cedarbrook Trout Farm directly addresses those concerns.

“I think grants like these that kind of help fill in these gaps and position folks for greater success,” Boring said. “It’s really a piece to how we’re creating a brighter future for Michigan (agriculture) across the state.”

Boring said that another common challenge that farmers and rural communities experience are barriers for community growth and economic opportunity. He said he believes Michigan residents can leverage agriculture to create a path to more financial stability.

“There’s concern about the health of people, the kids in schools, and agriculture is a path to addressing so many of these challenges that we have in rural areas,” Boring said. “Grants like these, and how indicative they are for our overall approach as a department, I do think provide some optimism that brighter days are ahead.”

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.