HAGERSTOWN – A presentation on farming, the $168 million annual “backbone” of the Washington County economy, and a $189,500 grant proposal to address childhood poverty in the county will be among items on the County Board of Commissioners meeting agenda on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
The 9 a.m. meeting will be held at 100 W. Washington St., Suite 1101, and a citizen comment period is included at the start of the meeting. The public is welcome.
The presentation on farming will concentrate on the 900 operating family farms in the county, with a total market value of $167,907,000 in market value of products sold, county officials noted.
A new “Faces of Farming” marketing campaign will include a video series to educate county residents, along with those in surrounding states and counties, about the economic impact of the agricultural industry. The series will be previewed to commissioners and also will be available for agricultural education around Washington County, such as, 4-H and Future Farmers of America meetings and the county Ag Expo and Fair. Videos will be available on the Washington County Agriculture App and website, county officials said.
Regarding the childhood poverty grant, county officials noted the program is funded through ENOUGH, a new grant program administered by the Maryland Governor’s Office for Children. Enough stands for Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households. The ENOUGH initiative is designed to create poverty-fighting opportunities driven by communities, data and cross-sector partnerships. Included in the ENOUGH Act is funding for local management boards to assist with community needs assessments, collaboration with other local organizations and other technical assistance, county officials said.
Among other agenda items is a report on the 2024 Washington County Ice Cream Trail, which was started in 2021 to help local ice cream vendors in the wake of the Covid pandemic. This last summer it drew a record 581 participants, county public relations officials said.
