A company that makes plant-based yogurts has been awarded an $11.7 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand production to Iowa. The USDA announced the award to Leominster, Mass.-based Plantbased Innovations LLC as part of a larger investment from the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program. The company will use the loan to buy a plant in Fredericksburg in Chickasaw County in northeast Iowa. It will also help support working capital and refinance existing debt. According to the release, the project is expected to create 50 jobs. The award to Plantbased Innovations was part of a $320 million investment the USDA announced earlier this month supporting projects in 19 states. Funding for the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program is authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act. It supports investment in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage and distribution to create a strong food supply chain in the U.S.