date:May 24, 2013
d amount.
The RCDG program and other USDA business and cooperate development programs have had a significant impact on rural communities. Business and cooperative program funding created or saved an estimated 53,000 rural jobs and helped almost 10,000 rural business owners or farmers improve their enterprises in 2012.
For example, in Dennison, Minn., the Food Co-op Initiative (FCI) received a $175,000 Rural Cooperative Development Grant in 2012 to support the start-up of retail food cooperativ