The USDA is set to award $35 million in grant funds to 15 meat and poultry processors across 12 states. According to the agency, the move is meant to boost local food availability and minimize grocery costs — while helping farmers and ranchers compete in the marketplace.

This is included in the final round of funding from the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program, which was implemented in 2022. The program received support from the American Rescue Plan. Since 2022, the program has granted $325 million to 74 projects. The USDA reports the funds have helped increase processing capacity, with millions of chickens and turkeys, hundreds of thousands of cattle and 14,000 hogs processed in addition to previous numbers.

Read more about the grant here.