The nonprofit World Central Kitchen announced this week the launch of its Plow to Plate program in the U.S. Virgin Islands. With the arrival of this program, small and medium-sized agribusinesses will have the opportunity to submit an application to obtain a grant of up to $20,000 to grow their projects.
On Monday and Tuesday the program with hold webinars to show people how to apply for these funds. A webinar will be held on Monday, April 13, at 5pm for farmers and on Tuesday, April 14, at 5pm for commercial fishers. For more information and to sign up, visit wck.org/p2p-training-usvi.
In addition to funding, applicants can also obtain business and technical training; exposure to World Central Kitchen’s network of restaurants, hotels, suppliers and distributors; and access to human capital through community service and voluntourism.
Applications are available to smallholder farmers and agribusinesses, commercial fishers and fisheries, as well as food-related small businesses that produce or distribute food at a local level.
Plow to Plate aims to strengthen the resilience of food systems across the Caribbean and to decrease the region’s long-standing dependence on food imports. World Central Kitchen began the program in Puerto Rico in 2018, and, after great success, it is expanding to the U.S.V.I. Currently, Plow to Plate has supported over 80 projects in the food economy with more than $1.3 million in grant funds, in addition to providing over 1,130 hours of training and connecting 890 volunteers with participating farms.
For more information or to apply, visit the World Central Kitchen (WCK) website or the Facebook Page WCK Plow to Plate, or send an email to usvi@wck.org.
