USDA providing nearly $66 million for rural Arizona health care, infrastructure

PHOENIX — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that nearly $66 million in federal grants will assist rural development in Arizona.

The money will go toward jobs, health care and infrastructure as part of the state’s Rural Partners Network.

Seventeen projects will receive funding, with the largest grant of $52,579,000 to aid Sun Life Family Health Center, Inc.’s construction of a new healthcare facility in Casa Grande.

Other projects receiving grants include water system improvements in Tacna and Kearny, a medical complex expansion in Somerton, tribal water utilities operation training, expansion of the Ajo Business Support Center, rehabilitation of approximately 47 homes in Yuma County and improvements to waste water treatment in Superior.

“People in Arizona’s rural and remote communities are some of the most inventive, resilient, and creative people in our state,” USDA Rural Development Arizona State Director Charlene Fernandez said in a press release.

“Some of that innovation is born out of necessity from limited opportunity. The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA, through the Rural Partners Network, are committed to connecting these same rural neighbors to resources they can access right at home to make their communities bloom and prosper.”

Across the country, USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced $262 million in funding for projects.

Other states and territories receiving grants are Alaska, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico.

The Rural Partners Network launched in April as a way for federal agencies and commissions to work with rural communities and provide resources.

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