USDA Opens Region’s First Urban Service Center in Philadelphia

(PHILADELPHIA —Oct. 20, 2023) Today, as part of a broader effort to support urban agriculture in Pennsylvania, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials opened the region’s first USDA Urban Service Center in Philadelphia.

Terry Cosby, Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Zach Ducheneaux joined together, onsite in Philadelphia, to demonstrate USDA’s unified commitment to working together and with partner organizations to provide expanded, specialized services and programs to producers in urban areas. 

"Urban producers here in Philadelphia deserve access to services that meet their specific needs,” said NRCS Chief Terry Cosby, “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to expanding support for urban communities that will increase access to healthy, local foods.”

“By establishing Urban Ag centers like this one here in Philadelphia, we can highlight and amplify the existing ability of FSA and NRCS to meet the needs of urban and innovative ag producers,” said Ducheneaux. “Our Urban Service Centers play a critical role in our efforts to remove barriers between producers and consumers around the importance of healthy, safe, nutritious and accessible food.”

The Urban Service Center in Philadelphia is one of 17 across the country. The Urban Service Centers are staffed by NRCS and FSA employees and offer farm loan, conservation, disaster recovery assistance and risk management programs. USDA works with agricultural producers through a network of more than 2,300 Service Centers nationwide, and the new Urban Service Centers will strengthen services to urban producers.

The Philadelphia Urban USDA Service Center is located at the Leon H. Sullivan Human Services Center at 1415 North Broad Street, First Floor, Suite 118, Philadelphia, PA 19122-3325. Services may be requested on site, or by telephone at 215-789-2542 for NRCS and 215-789-2543 for FSA.

To learn more about Urban Service Centers, download our fact sheet or visit our Urban Service Center webpage. Visit farmers.gov/urban for more information on programs and services for urban producers.