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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in the Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 50 Stories
Woman and man standing in front of concession stand at movie theater.

Energy Grant Helps the “Show Go On” in Southeast Montana

Ever since moving pictures began, Main Street U.S.A.’s neon-lighted movie theaters have provided a beloved escape for small town residents. As Rosebud County’s only theater, the Roxy has been a cultural mainstay ever since it replaced Forsyth’s old silent film theater back in… [Read More]
Montana
Energy
Image of people in a boat

Working Together for Change on Spruce Head Island: Maine Oyster Company Goes Green with REAP Grant

Entrepreneurs must weigh every potential expense carefully. This is certainly true for Krista Tripp, owner of a lobster business and commercial oyster farm on Sprucehead Island, ME. Her company, Aphrodite Oysters, markets its fresh seafood directly to consumers and through area… [Read More]
Maine
BusinessEnergyEntrepreneurLocal FoodsRenewable EnergySmall BusinessSolar Energy
State Director Julia Hnilicka smiles at local business owner Henry Krull as he bags up lettuce and explains hydroponic farming.

Green energy: photovoltaic array powers growth of Alaskan produce business

During a good year, Alaska’s outdoor growing season is three months for most lettuces and herbs, so providing greens for a community year-round is a feat in itself. Doing so sustainably is another challenge entirely! In 2018, innovator Henry Krull and his family decided to… [Read More]
Alaska
BusinessEnergyLocal FoodsLocal ProduceREAPRenewable EnergyRural DevelopmentSmall BusinessSolar Energy
Jen Young and Jessica Heesacker show off the Farm to Family Coop in Hay Springs, Nebraska

Farm to Family: A Labor of Love

In Hay Springs, Nebraska, customers stream into the Farm to Family cooperative grocery store. Kids in swimsuits looking for a snack, farmers grabbing a cold drink, and parents picking up the last items for dinner come and go from the little store on main street.This scene is the… [Read More]
Nebraska
BusinessCooperativesEnergySmall Business
Unionville Vineyards GM John Cifelli crushes grapes for wine

‘Sustainability should hurt’: Making wine without the whine

The drive up to Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes, New Jersey can be a tricky one. Patches of forest and sprawling farmland bound winding roads that lead to a natural, inclined driveway up to a rustic tasting room. In the summer, it’s hard to find a more picturesque setting. In… [Read More]
New Jersey
Energy
Renewable Lubricants CEO Bill Garmier stands in front of barrels of Lubricant Products

REAP Adds Another Level of Sustainability to Bio-based Business

After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Bill Garmier returned to Ohio with nothing but starting a family farm on his mind. For years, his family would plant and harvest corn and soybeans, but when the market began to change Garmier knew he needed to find an additional source of… [Read More]
Ohio
BiobasedBiopreferredEnergyREAPRenewable EnergySolar Energy
finnriver coowners photo by james curtis. Three people smiling in front of fermenting equipment and bottles.

Sustainability at the Core

For many, apples are a sweet addition to a balanced diet. For Eric Jorgensen, one of the founders of Finnriver Farm & Cidery, apples are a way of life. Jorgensen and his partners started their small organic fruit and vegetable farm in Chimacum, Washington, on the state’s… [Read More]
Washington
EnergyGrantsLocal ProduceMade in Rural AmericaREAPRural DevelopmentSmall BusinessSolar EnergySustainable/Organic FoodsValue Added
Geoff Marietta solar panels

East Kentucky entrepreneur uses solar power to significantly cut power costs

Geoff Marietta found out just how expensive it can be to heat a 12,000-square-foot, 100-plus-year-old building. The building, located on the corner of 2nd and Main streets in downtown Corbin, Kentucky, sat vacant from 2005 until Marietta bought it in 2017. He immediately… [Read More]
Kentucky
EnergyEntrepreneurREAPRenewable Energy

Humboldt Community REAPs the Benefit of Webb Farm Solar

Located in rural Humboldt, Tennessee, Mr. Aaron Webb of Webb Farm Solar Systems Inc., owns and operates a minority owned solar farm. This farm has been in operation since 2012, with Photo-Voltaic (PV) Solar Systems on several farm properties.  It was in 2019, when Webb… [Read More]
Tennessee
EnergyGrantsREAPSolar Energy
Members of the Real Pickle Co-op stand on the roof of the building next to the new solar panels on a sunny day. Many are wearing coats and it looks chilly outside.

Solar: It’s a “Big Dill” for Real Pickles Cooperative

As USDA Rural Development (RD) highlights National Cooperative Month, one worker owned co-op in Massachusetts stands out as a model for sustainability, collaboration, and local food system resiliency. The saying goes “it’s not easy being green.” But for Real Pickles in… [Read More]
Massachusetts
CooperativesEnergyLocal FoodsLocal ProduceREAPRenewable EnergyRural DevelopmentSustainable/Organic Foods

Additional Success Stories