PROGRAM EXPANDED: NDA expands eligibility for Farm2Food Accelerator program

The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA), alongside the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Foundation, has expanded eligibility of its Women’s Farm2Food Accelerator program to include all women who create, or want to create, a value-added product with any agricultural source. This is the second year this workforce development program is being offered to Nevadans, following the successful completion of the pilot program focused on specialty crops and positive feedback from the nine initial participants.

The program, which starts in November of this year, is designed to help Nevada women entrepreneurs with value-added food or beverage products, or product ideas, grow their business and expand into new markets. A value-added product is a product that has changed in its physical state or form, such as milling wheat for flour or making strawberries into jam.

“This is a great opportunity for Nevada's women to receive entrepreneurship training and tools,” said NDA Director Jennifer Ott. “This program supports women owned, small-scale businesses in growing their operations and increasing their marketplace success.”

Selected participants will participate in a 15-week online program and two in-person events at no cost thanks to funds made available through the Nevada Specialty Crop Block Grant program and the American Rescue Plan Act. The program will provide women with the opportunity to:

• Gain knowledge and tools related to food safety, product development, marketing and other industry resources
• Connect with a community of women farmers and ranchers, food entrepreneurs and food experts
• Launch a new food or beverage product or enhance an existing product for market

Interested individuals can apply for the program at f2faccelerator.org/nv-program.

About the Nevada Department of Agriculture

The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) mission is to preserve, protect and promote Nevada’s agriculture. The department has 225 dedicated employees providing services in its five divisions, Administrative Services, Animal Industry, Measurement Standards, Food and Nutrition, and Plant Health and Compliance. The department’s $288 million budget facilitates regulatory and administrative work in agriculture and food manufacturing industries, protecting public and environmental health and worker safety, and providing food distribution and oversight for the United States Department of Agriculture’s school and community nutrition programs.