Correction appended.
Brandon Jaeger, co-owner of Shagbark Seed & Mill, met with the Athens County Commissioners on Thursday morning to request the commissioners' support in an application for a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Jaeger said he hopes Shagbark, a business that processes organic seeds, will exceed half a million dollars in sales this year. The business provides organic ingredients for restaurants, including some in Uptown Athens, as well as Athens City Schools.
"We've kind of reached a point where we are (stuck), and we have a lot of options in front of us for growth strategy," Jaeger said. "We feel that we've exhausted our own internal expertise ... so we are applying for this grant."
Jaeger and the other owners are requesting about $100,000 total. The money would come from a USDA grant through the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program, which focuses on projects that demonstrate value and building opportunities for farms, and connect farms to regional markets, he said.
The grant money will go toward hiring more personnel that specialize in branding, growth strategy and engineering.
Jaegar also drafted a letter that the commissioners could consider sending to the grant proposal reviewers. The letter, which is addressed from the commissioners, would show the USDA that Shagbark has the commissioners' support when applying for the grant.
Shagbark is also requesting a 25 percent "in-kind" match from supporters and stakeholders in the community, meaning those stakeholders would spend work hours, rather than cash, providing input on how to spend the grant money.
The letter Jaeger wrote, if left unchanged, would commit a county commissioner to serve as one of those stakeholders.
The grant application is due by the end of March, but Jaegar said he hopes to hear back from the commissioners before then.
"We are trying to get it done, if not next week, the week after," he said. "We've had technical difficulties with this particular program in the past. ... If we had a little more time before the deadline, we (could have taken care of the problems)."
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated what Shagbark processed. The article has been updated with the most accurate information.
