ATHOL — Adams Farm Slaughterhouse was recently awarded a Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) in the interest of lowering consumer costs and improving food security.

Maintenance Manager Clare Barnes explained that Adams Farm received a grant of $90,344, of which the business is responsible for 25%. The money will go toward the purchase of a new tenderizer to replace an older, ineffective machine and a third cooling unit for the beef freezer, allowing for more freezer space. The business has until June 30 to complete the projects.

“[The grant] helps us keep our prices down by [allowing us to] purchase new equipment,” Barnes explained. “The equipment we have, when it ages, it can cost us a lot of money to repair. And by doing this, this helps keep our costs down for the farms who raise their meat to bring it here … so that it’s more affordable for their customers, as well as our customers who come here and purchase meat.”

Adams Farm Slaughterhouse was one of 163 Massachusetts food system enterprises awarded a total of $24.6 million at the end of October from the FSIG program, run by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), according to announcement from MDAR.

“FSIG is one of the strongest, most in-demand programs in state government,” state Senator and Co-Chair of the Joint Agriculture Committee Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) said in a statement. “The continued funding for FSIG speaks to a shared commitment by the administration and Legislature to fight food insecurity, tackle diet-related disease, and bolster constituents’ ability to access locally-grown food — all at the same time.”

Gov. Maura Healey echoed Comerford’s sentiment, expressing enthusiasm for the Massachusetts food system.

“The food system represents so much of what makes Massachusetts great,” Healey said in the statement. “From our national leadership in cranberries and fisheries, to our dairy and maple producers, to our farm-to-school and urban agriculture efforts, we are committed to building the state’s food security through these grants.”