WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Susan M. Collins (R-ME) today announced a $59,000 Rural Development grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the Eastern Maine Development Corporation for community and economic development in traditional fishing communities of Downeast Maine. The funding will, in turn, be delivered to the Penobscot East Resource Center (PERC) in Stonington.
“We are pleased to see federal support from the USDA Rural Development program for Maine’s Downeast fishing communities in their ongoing efforts to ensure the long term health and vitality of Maine’s fishing industry and way of life,” Senators Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement.
The USDA Rural Development program provides financial loans and grants to help improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America. The funds are used for community programs, which seek to construct or improve community facilities for health care, public safety, and public services.