USDA accepting Applications for Regional Food System Partnerships Grant Program

Deadline: 11 May 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant program. AMS will competitively award grants to eligible applicants for projects that support partnerships to plan and develop local or regional food systems.

The RFSP supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The RFSP focuses on building and strengthening local or regional food economy viability and resilience by alleviating unnecessary administrative and technical barriers for participating partners.

Partnerships will be responsible for:

Determining the size and scope of the local or regional food system in which the project’s goals, outreach objectives, and eligible activities are to be carried out;
Coordinating with AMS to receive and provide technical assistance; and
Conducting outreach and education for potential participation in the partnership agreement and eligible activities.

Applicants will work with their partners to catalyze the development of local or regional food systems. Applicants will coordinate efforts within the partnership to set priorities, connect resources and services, and measure progress towards common goals.

Type of Projects

Planning and Design: Planning and Design projects support partnerships in the early stages of convening, envisioning, and planning processes for developing local or regional food systems. Examples of eligible project activities for these partnerships include but are not limited to:
- Convening established and potential partners, such as current or past FMLFPP or VAPG grantees, to define the regional food system scope and structure, share opportunities and challenges, and develop an approach that is inclusive of any potential members of a regional food system;
- Creating and conducting feasibility studies, implementation plans, and assessments, including studies analyzing capital needs and gaps;
- Conducting research on specific market, mid-tier value chain, or infrastructure investments or policy analysis to prioritize next steps at the local, regional, state, and tribal government level;
- Connecting food value chain entities with partners and funders to engage in activities that strengthen the regional food system, such as providing technical assistance to food system enterprises seeking capital investments or initiating and monitoring projects associated with other LAMP programs;
- Researching possible metrics to measure and evaluate the partnership’s early development work and identify ways to use and improve them to establish time-defined performance benchmarks for achieving partnership goals.
Implementation and Expansion Projects: Implementation and Expansion projects support partnerships building on prior or ongoing efforts within a local or regional food system. Partnerships funded in this track will have already completed most or all the activities discussed above for Planning and Design projects. Examples of eligible project activities for these partnerships include but are not limited to:
- Prioritizing strategies to fill food systems gaps, meet stakeholder needs, and facilitate market opportunities and food access solutions;
- Institutionalizing processes for ongoing community and business engagement to ensure sustainable approaches meet regional needs and provide a forum for ideas, concerns, and updates;
- Conducting research on specific market, mid-tier value chain, or infrastructure investments or policy analysis to prioritize next steps at the local, regional, state, and tribal government level;
- Supporting food system efforts to analyze capital needs and gaps;
- Connecting eligible entities and partners to meet identified needs in transporting local agricultural products to market;
- Creating innovative value chains in which producers, manufacturers, buyers, and other related actors form collaborative, transparent partnerships with a commitment to shared operational values and social mission goals;
- Increasing stakeholder awareness of regulatory considerations and market channel requirements that may impede the ability of food value chains to access certain channels and assisting producers in navigating such systems;
- Identifying resources for food system enterprises, providing technical assistance for partnership activities such as fiscal sponsorship, and applying for programs and resources that align with regional food system efforts, including other LAMP programs or those seeking capital investments;
- Evaluating the partnership’s expansion work and establishing time-defined performance measures for achieving partnership goals.

Projects are not eligible for funding if the proposed activities:

Are for production-related expenses, including the purchase of farm equipment, tools, materials, supplies, and other related costs.
Are related to construction or purchasing land for use by a non-Federal entity.
Benefit only one agricultural producer or individual.
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.
Provide capital for revolving loan funds or seed equity funds.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding: $10,000,000
Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
Award Floor: $100,000

Eligibility Criteria

Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
City or township governments
Small businesses
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Special district governments
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
County governments
Independent school districts
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
State governments
Private institutions of higher education