STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Individuals interested in applying for grant funds to organize farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer outlets for local foods are invited to attend a May 11 workshop in Starkville.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Southern Rural Development Center will host the Local Foods Grant Writing Workshop to help potential grant applicants understand, develop and submit federal grant requests through the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program.

“Increasing access to healthy locally grown foods is an important part of community development,” said Rachael Carter, an instructor with the MSU Extension Service Center for Government and Community Development. “These funding opportunities could help enhance that process in Mississippi. The purpose of this workshop is to provide information to help participants improve their proposals and make them more competitive.”

The workshop is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Bost Conference Center on the MSU campus. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. The workshop is free, but preregistration is required by May 4. To register for the workshop, visit http://bit.ly/1D33PHR.

Speakers include Judith Phillips, a research associate with the MSU Stennis Institute of Government; and Kim Morgan, an Extension agricultural economist at Virginia Tech.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service and National Institute for Food and Agriculture are collaborating with Extension programs and regional Centers for Rural Development across the country to produce these workshops. Mississippi Main Street is a sponsor. The organized effort, called the Agricultural Marketing Service Technical Assistance Project, aims to raise awareness of grant opportunities and increase participation in the program.

For more information about the workshop, contact Miranda Tucci at m.tucci@msstate.edu or 662-325-2750.