ODA: Farm to School Equipment & Infrastructure Grant in the US

Deadline: 23-May-22

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is pleased to announce a competitive solicitation to award funds under the Oregon Farm to School Equipment and Infrastructure Grant Program to Oregon producers, ranchers, seafood harvesters, and processors who intend to sell food produced or processed in Oregon to any of the following food sponsors identified:

• education
• procurement
• school gardens

• serve locally grown, raised, harvested or processed foods in school cafeterias, 
• improve student nutrition,
• provide agriculture, health, and nutrition education opportunities; and 
• support Oregon’s agricultural economy.  

Funding Information

• There is $200,000 available for the ODA F2S Equipment and Infrastructure Grant Program.
• Applicants may request no less than $5,000 and no more than $60,000 for proposed projects.
• Grant funds will be available for projects between July 5, 2022 and June 30, 2023 and cannot be expended before a project initiation date is provided by ODA.

Eligibile Projects

• Aim to increase sales of Oregon agricultural products by increasing production and/or processing capacity to meet school marketplace demand.
• Request funds greater than $5,000 and less than $60,000
• Not begin until an executed agreement is signed by all parties.
• Be completed by June 30, 2023. Awarded grants cannot be extended beyond this date.

Eligibility Criteria

• For the purposes of this program, “intend” is defined as persons who
  • have a history of selling food products to schools,
  • currently sell food products to schools, or
  • do not currently sell food products to schools, but plan to do so in the future.
• To be eligible for grant funds under the program, an applicant must be a “producer.” A “producer” includes any of the following entities:
  • a person who borrows, leases, rents, or owns Oregon land, whether the land is publicly-owned, privately-owned, or Tribal land, on which crops are cultivated or livestock is raised;
  • an Oregon seafood harvester;
  • an Oregon business that increases the use and processing of Oregon agriculturalproducts for schools, including a for-profit business whose primary function involves production, processing, packaging or distribution of food service products or some combination thereof; and
  • an agricultural cooperative or aggregation group (such as physical Food Hubs) that produces, processes and sells Oregon agricultural products or services for the mutual benefit of members.
  • Additionally, to be eligible, an applicant must be registered to do business and in good standing with the Oregon Secretary of State, and have an acceptable performance history in ODA grant programs (if applicable). All grant awards will be conditioned upon the applicant’s execution of a grant agreement in form and substance acceptable to ODA in its sole discretion.
  • All applicants will be asked to meet a level of food safety consistent with their farm or business operations. Applicants will be expected to work with ODA to determine what food safety schemes are best suited for their farm or business.
  • Applications will not be evaluated based on current food safety practices or certifications and applicants may use funds for costs to meet necessary food safety requirements for proposed projects. This may include, but is not limited to, obtaining appropriate food safety certification, preparing on-farm food safety plans, participating in an on-farm readiness audit, attending a (Food Safety Modernization Act) FSMA class, and others as identified.

For more information, visit https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/MarketAccess/DevelopmentMarketing/Documents/FarmToSchool/F2SProducerEIGrantGuidelines2022.pdf