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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 their 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: 76 Stories
Woman holding green chile in her restaurant kitchen

Rural Business Development Grant Helps Business Expand Hours

If you pass through Peñasco, New Mexico, in the spring or summer and crave some New Mexican style comfort food, you are in luck. La Jicarita Harvest offers just the food to give you a taste of authentic northern New Mexican cuisine. Sopapilla burgers, Indian tacos, and Frito… [Read More]
GrantsLocal FoodsSmall Business
Five people pose for a photo in a tire shop garage area

USDA Grant Helps Expand Tire Repair Service

Turning away customers is something no business owner ever wants to do, but that is exactly what employees at Traveler’s Service Station in Peñasco, New Mexico, had to do. Fortunately, the local nonprofit MAS Comunidad helped them purchase new equipment with funds from a USDA… [Read More]
GrantsSmall Business
Four people stand in front of a café counter

Healthy Food Financing Initiative Helps Spread the Power and Love of Local Food in New Mexico

When you’re planning to spend a day at a museum, a couple logistical questions might come to mind: What am I going to eat? Is the food going to be too expensive and not good? Luckily for those who visit Albuquerque’s Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum, local, healthy… [Read More]
GrantsLocal Foods
Molly and Jesse of Piper Mountain Christmas Trees stand in front of a vintage blue pickup truck with their two children. In the background there is a red barn and a distant hill.

Beginning Farmers Use REAP Grant to Make Their Christmas Tree Farm Greener

Molly Livingston and Jesse Jimerson were living in Northern Nevada while looking for an opportunity to get into farming. When they heard that Piper Mountain Christmas Tree Farm in Newburgh, Maine was for sale, they were interested. The farm had been in business since 1978 and… [Read More]
BusinessClean EnergyEnergyGrantsMade in Rural AmericaREAPRenewable EnergySmall Business
Healthcare1

Enhancing Rural Medicine

To meet the challenges of a post-pandemic period and to keep pace with the needs of a diverse community, St. Mark's Medical Center (SMMC) looked to USDA's Emergency Rural Health Care Grant program for help. SMMC contributed $4.8 million in uncompensated care and free services… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesGrants
Two patients exercise in the telehealth cardio rehab room at Benson Hospital.

Health Care Closer to Home – It’s Good for the Heart

In Arizona, Benson Hospital’s telehealth services cut a 100-mile round trip to metropolitan Tucson, allowing residents to focus on what matters most – their health. Before the pandemic, telehealth was nearly nonexistent in Graham and Cochise County, forcing rural Arizonans in… [Read More]
Distance LearningGrantsHealth CareTechnology
State Director for Rural Development in Pennsylvania inspects a Hemp Block at Alvernia University.

Hemp Blocks Add Value to Pennsylvanians and the Planet

The Value-Added Producer Grant or VAPG program can help emerging industries take the next steps to becoming viable and expand their markets. Just ask Drew Oberholtzer, the co-founder of Coexist Build, which was the 2021 recipient of a VAPG for hemp blocks. Coexist, located in… [Read More]
BiopreferredBusinessGrantsManufacturingSmall Business
Four women and one man sit at tables in a large room with a USDA banner in the background.

New Capacity for Sunrise County: USDA Helps Meet Business Needs

When team at the Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) polled area businesses, they heard a consistent message. Asked what they needed to thrive, business owners made it clear. They were looking for more training opportunities and resources right in the community. Washington… [Read More]
BusinessEconomic DevelopmentGrantsUnderserved
Family Roots Farm is located in Wellsburg, West Virginia and produces maple syrup and all natural sweeteners.

Eighth Generation Farm Expands its Roots into New Markets Thanks to Value-Added Producer Grant

It was 1775 when Henry Hervey decided to make his homestead in what is today, Wellsburg, West Virginia. Hervey paid two pounds of silver for the 400-acre plot and his original deed to the property was written on a buckskin hide. Over the years, the farm was known primarily for… [Read More]
GrantsValue Added
A USDA Rural Development investment grant of $84,000 helped those involved in Hope House Guthrie, with the necessary funds to complete the purchase of an 18,000 square feet shelter that provides clients in the area with rapid rehousing.

A House Built on Hope

In the City of Guthrie, there isn’t just hope, there is literally a house built on hope that serves the needs of low-income families and provides meaningful shelter and an opportunity for meaningful rehabilitation. A USDA Rural Development investment grant of $84,000 helped… [Read More]
Grants

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