President Biden announced the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Coalition as one of 21 winners of the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge, the most impactful regional economic development competition in decades. Funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), the Regional Challenge is awarding approximately $65.1 million in grants to the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Coalition, led by the Central Valley Community Foundation, to drive agriculture innovation in California’s Central Valley. Reedley College is one of eight community colleges across the five-county region that will be involved in providing job skills training and certification for farm workers and food industry workers through what is called the AgTEC Workforce Initiative. The training will be geared toward low-skill, low-wage workers whose jobs are most likely to be displaced by automation, helping them gain the knowledge and skills they need for more advanced jobs in agriculture or food-related manufacturing. The coalition aims to integrate technology into the agriculture industry to improve productivity and job quality for farmworkers, while also driving a more resilient and sustainable food system.
