USDA accepting Applications for 2020 Local Food Promotion Program

Deadline: 11 May 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), is seeking applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP).

LFPP’s purpose is to support the development, coordination, and expansion of local and regional food business enterprises to increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. AMS will competitively award grants to eligible applicants for projects that meet the purpose of the grant program.

Focus Areas

LFPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on:

Supporting and promoting local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing;
Supporting the processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products that are marketed locally or regionally, including value-added agricultural products;
Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products;
Assisting with business development plans and feasibility studies;
Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food products and value-added agricultural products in new and existing markets;
Facilitating regional food chain coordination and mid-tier value chain development;
Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste;
Responding to changing technology needs in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing; and
Covering expenses to cost incurred in obtaining food safety certification related and improvements to food safety practices and equipment.

Projects

LFPP offers Planning and Implementation project types.

Planning projects
- Planning projects are used in the planning stages of developing, coordinating, or expanding a food business that supports locally and regionally produced agricultural products and food system infrastructure.
- Activities include developing, coordinating, and expanding such businesses. Projects may include, but are not limited to:
  - Completing a feasibility study for a new intermediary food channel (i.e., food hub), to analyze market potential, capacity, and potential competitors and partners in the region.
  - Hiring experts for technical assistance to implement a local/regional food transportation system.
  - Hiring experts for training on managing a local/regional food storage or processing facility.
  - Devising a business development plan associated with the processing/marketing of local/regional agricultural products, including value-added agricultural products.
Implementation projects
- Implementation projects are used to establish a new food business or to improve or expand an existing food business that supports locally and regionally produced agricultural products and food system infrastructure.
- Activities include developing, coordinating, or expanding such businesses. Projects may include, but are not limited to:
  - Developing or expanding food incubator programs or mid-tier value chains.
  - Instituting group-based Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) certification for sellers of food into institutional or wholesale marketing channels, including providing financial support for making changes and upgrades to practices and equipment to improve food safety.
  - Cultivating new wholesale market channels through an online portal or virtual marketplace.
  - Investigating and implementing more cost-effective means of transportation for food supply chains through backhaul, route optimization, and/or other operational efficiencies.

Projects are not eligible for consideration if the proposed activities:

Are not related to local and regional food system activities;
Are to glean, purchase, or collect food or services to donate to other entities and/or individuals;
Are for production related expenses, including food production and the purchase of farm equipment, tools, materials, supplies, and other related costs;
Depend on the purchase or lease-to-own of a vehicle—vehicles can be leased, but not leased-to own or purchased;
Benefit only one agricultural producer, vendor, or individual;
Promote general food consumption (unrelated to a specific product or service);
Depend upon a critical component (such as land and structures) not in place at the time of application submission;
Depend upon the completion of another project or the receipt of another grant;
Duplicate activities in a project that has received a Federal award from another Federal award program, including FMLFPP.

Priority Areas

Priority consideration will be given to projects that benefit communities located in areas of concentrated poverty with limited access to supermarkets or locally or regionally grown food. AMS does not require applicants to conduct projects in priority areas to be eligible to apply or receive grant funds.
If requesting low income/low food access (LI/LA) priority consideration, the project’s implementation address must be in a LI/LA census tract as defined by the four major map layers on the ERS Food Access Research Atlas. “Implementation address” refers to the street address or census tract location within the targeted community (LI/LA census tract) at which the applicant plans to conduct or deliver approved project activities.
The applicant must provide its census tract(s) for at least one LI/LA address (priority area). If your organization or business is located in and/or primarily serves at least one LI/LA community, your application will be considered under this priority area.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding: $13,500,000
Award Ceiling: $500,000
Award Floor: $25,000

Eligibility Criteria

All applicants must be domestic entities owned, operated, and located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Tribal Governments.
Eligible applicants include:
- Agricultural Businesses or Cooperatives: Business entities, member-owned entities or businesses that provide, hold, deliver, transport, offer, or sell agricultural products or services for member benefit as well as the organization or other business that they represent.
- Producer Networks or Association: Producer group- or member-owned organizations or businesses that provide, offer, or sell agricultural products or services through a common distribution system for the mutual member benefit as well as organizations or other businesses that assist, represent, or serve producers or producer networks.
- CSA Networks or Associations: Formal groups of farms that work collectively to offer consumers regular (usually weekly) deliveries of locally-grown farm products during one or more harvest season(s) often on a subscription or membership basis. This includes organizations or other businesses that assist, serve, or represent community-supported agriculture (CSA) or CSA networks. Customers have access to a selected share or range of farm products offered by the group of farmers based on partial or total advance payment of a subscription or membership fee.
- Food Council: Food policy council or food and farm system network that represents multiple organizations involved in the production, processing, and consumption of food, as well as local, Tribal, or
  State governments; and that addresses food and farm-related issues and needs within city, county, State, Tribal region, multicounty region, or other region designated by the food council or food system network.
- Local Governments: Any unit of government within a state, including a county; borough; municipality; city; town; township; parish; local public authority, including any public housing agency under the United States Housing Act of 1937 (50 Stat. 888 (P.L. 75—412); special district; school district; intrastate district; council of governments, whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under State law; and any other agency or instrumentality of a multi-state, regional, or intra-state or local government.
- Nonprofit Corporations: Any organization or institution, including nonprofits with State or IRS 501 (c) status and accredited institutions of higher education, where no part of the organization or institution’s net earnings of which inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
- Public Benefit Corporations: Corporations organized to construct or operate a public improvement, the profits from which inure to the benefit of one or more State or to the people therein.
- Economic Development Corporations: Organizations whose missions are to improve, maintain, develop and/or market, or promote a specific geographic area.
- Regional Farmers Market Authorities: Entities that establish and enforce regional, State, or county policies and jurisdiction over State, regional, or county farmers markets. State agencies are eligible if their State’s regulatory statutes identify the specific State agency as a regional farmers market authority.
- Tribal Governments: Governing bodies or governmental agencies of any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community (including any native village as defined in of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 85 Stat. 688 (43 U.S.C. § 1602)) certified by the Secretary of the Interior as eligible for the special programs and services provided through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.