3 Businesses In South Kingstown Get State Agriculture, Seafood Grants

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI — Three small businesses in South Kingstown received state grants from the Local Agriculture and Seafood Act (LASA), state officials said Wednesday.

Authored by state Sen. Susan Sosnowski in 2012 and run by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the LASA program is designed to help new and existing small food businesses grow and flourish.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, DEM has steered the program to prioritize building capacity for markets connecting local farms and fishers with food-insecure communities and supporting agriculture producers and fishers who are Black, Indigenous and other people of color — along with developing small food businesses.

The fiscal year 2023 budget enacted funded LASA at $700,000 — nearly three times more than the fiscal 2022 level.

"LASA is a pillar of our food strategy through which Rhode Island is investing to provide consistent access to safe, healthy, affordable food — and to give a foothold to small businesses in the green economy," Governor Dan McKee said. "Since 2012 and including the grant awards announced today, LASA has provided more than $2 million to assist dozens of small businesses across the state. I look forward to working with the general assembly to ensure the continued historic funding of this worthy program."

South Kingstown businesses that received grants include:

• Commercial Fisheries Center of RI, $20,000
• North Star Shellfish Co., $20,000
• Rocky Rhode Island Oyster Co., $13,500.