Photo Provided - Shown here is an artist’s rendering of the future Wheeling Food Hub building in East Wheeling, a Grow Ohio Valley project. Grow OV received a $1.5 million Appalachian Regional Commission grant on Monday. Also, the Augusta Levy Learning Center of Wheeling received a $50,000 ARC grant.

WHEELING – Two Wheeling organizations are receiving more than $1.5 million in grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

The announcement was made Monday that Grow Ohio Valley will receive $1.5 million and Augusta Levy Learning Center will receive $50,000 via ARC’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization program, aka POWER.

ARC announced a total of $47 million in grants for 52 different organizations and businesses during a reception in Frostburg, Maryland.

The grant awarded to Augusta Levy Learning Center, which is known for its work with children with autism, will be used to support its Workforce & Education Development for Applied Behavior Analysis program.

According to a summary, the project “will enable a collaborative — including nonprofit, higher education, and state level partners led by ALLC and the Mountaineer Autism Project — to conduct an analysis of gaps in access to quality Applied Behavior Analysis services for adolescents diagnosed with autism in West Virginia.”

“Due to a shortage of providers, fewer than 4% of children diagnosed with autism are receiving evidence-based services in West Virginia.

“The project will develop a comprehensive statewide strategic plan to grow a workforce with training in ABA services,” according to Augusta Levy information.

“Appropriate training includes high school diplomas, vocational accreditation, and/or master’s degrees. The plan will include additional support for developing an ABA-trained workforce in high-need areas in West Virginia.

“The strategic plan will be developed over the course of a year-long grant period and submitted by ALLC at the conclusion of the planning project.”

Grow OV’s grant will be used for its Wheeling Food Ventures: Small Farm and Food Business Acceleration in the Ohio Valley program.

Many visitors to downtown Wheeling likely have tried a burger, pastry or coffee from the Public Market. The market is owned by Grow OV and also sells vegetables and fruits grown by the organization at its different urban farming locations, along with a variety of other products produced by local vendors and farmers.

But the ARC grant is expected to help Grow OV move forward with its new Wheeling Food Hub idea. The program will involve allowing farmers, chefs, bakers and more to share a commercial kitchen space at a building in East Wheeling.

“We are extremely grateful to the ARC for this POWER award, and look forward to the Wheeling

Food Hub serving local food businesses in the Ohio Valley,” Vincent DeGeorge, Wheeling Food Hub project lead, said in a press release. “So many local farmers and restaurants have contributed to the planning stages of this project, and we are excited to launch this shared-use commercial kitchen, processing and aggregation hub, and food business incubator.”

A building was donated to the organization to use for the project.

“Grow Ohio Valley is building a food system where farmers flourish and local and healthy food is

a way of life,” said Danny Swan, executive director of Grow Ohio Valley. “The Wheeling Food

Hub will address the diverse needs of regional food and farm entrepreneurs to start or expand

their businesses. Through this initiative local producers will have access to tools and resources

to turn their raw products into value-added goods. For example, tomatoes from the field into

salsa on grocery-store shelves.”

According to Grow OV information, “Rentable commercial kitchen spaces allow businesses to expand the types of food produced and increase the scale and efficiency of production and distribution.

“Our facility will be a fully equipped, licensed and affordable collaborative space to start and grow businesses by lessening individual financial risk.

“This facility will meet the diverse needs of regional food and farm entrepreneurs to start or expand businesses to produce, process, pack, brand, and distribute locally-made food. … The project is expected to serve 35 businesses, improve 17 businesses, create five new businesses and nine jobs, and leverage $525,000 in private investment.”

Grow OV said it also received support for its project from Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, the Benedum Foundation, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Mills Group, West Virginia University Brownfields Assistance Center and others.

ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government, 13 state governments and 423 counties in Appalachia.

“ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socio economic parity with the nation,” according to the organization.

The grants are aimed at supporting “economic diversification and revitalization in the region’s coal-impacted communities.”

ARC Co-Chairwoman Gayle Manchin was on hand for the event.

“Our coal-impacted communities are a vital part of Appalachia’s 13 states and 423 counties –when our coal communities thrive, our entire region is uplifted,” Manchin said in a news release. “This latest round of POWER grant funding will not only help struggling coal communities to once again compete in a global marketplace, but also expand support for the creation of new jobs through growing Appalachia’s food economy.”

In addition to Grow OV and Augusta Levy Learning Center, other organizations in West Virginia that received grants included:

— Summers County Commission: $2.4 million toward its Summers County Broadband Expansion Project;

— Boone County Community & Economic Development Corporation: $1,692,507 toward its Rock Creek Development Park Broadband Project;

— Region 4 Planning and Development Council: $1.5 million toward its Creating West Virgnina’s Largest Maple Syrup, Mushroom, Field, and Floriculture Production Systems project;

— Region 4 Planning & Development Council: $1.5 million toward its Turning Coal to Gold: Boosting the Outdoor Economy through the Snowshoe Highlands Ride Center project;

— Marshall University Research Corporation: $1.5 million toward its West Virginia Grant Resource Centers;

— Mountain State Educational Services Cooperative: $1,499,998 toward its Seeing West Virginia’s Future Through a Different Lens project;

— Connec Train Corp.: $1,370,039 toward its Data Cabling & Fiber Optic Installation Training Program;

— Marshall University Research Corporation: $1,118,814 toward its Career Opportunities for Appalachian Legacy program;

— Bluefield Economic Development Authority: $400,000 toward its BEDA Food Truck Incubator Project;

— City of Elkins: $50,000 toward its EAST Trail Master Plan;

— Fahe, Inc.: $50,000 toward its Fahe West Virginia Workforce Alliance;

— West Virginia University Research Corporation: $50,000 toward its Workforce Development Roadmap: Re-Training for Electric Utility and Other Energy Sector Jobs, Pre-Apprenticeship to Job Placement program; and

— Arthurdale Heritage, Inc.: $35,580 toward its West Virginia Historic Preservation Training Center.