Castalia farm receives a mini-grant to help it cope with the changes brought on by COVID-19

Prairie's Edge Farm of Castalia is receiving a mini-grant from Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), a national nonprofit organization that promotes the safe and humane production of meat, milk, and eggs. The farm is co-owned by Jim and Caite Palmer, along with Alice and Jim Palmer, Sr.

Prairie's Edge Farm used its grant from FACT to redesign its online store. Before the pandemic, the farm had a lot of wholesale clients but Prairie's Edge Farm shifted to more direct sales to consumers, thanks to its upgraded online store.

Since April, FACT has awarded more than $95,000 in mini-grants to over 200 farmers located across 40 states. Funded projects included purchase of cold storage units to manage inventory and/or use at self-service on-farm stores; website upgrades and development of online farm stores; materials and supplies for home delivery and shipping of perishable food items; and sanitation-related supplies to ensure the safety of farm workers and their customers.
 
While many of the funded projects are still underway, so far over 97 percent of the funded farmers report that the mini-grant has helped their farm business to address a challenge related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 93 percent report that their mini-grant has already helped the financial viability of their farm business.

For more information about Prairie's Edge Farm, visit https://www.prairiesedgeiowa.com/