Grants for Community Food Projects

COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) requests applications for the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants program (CFPCGP) for fiscal year (FY) 2013 to support: (1) the development of Community Food Projects with a one-time infusion of federal dollars to make such projects self-sustaining; and (2) Planning Projects to assess the food security needs and plan long-term solutions to help ensure food security in communities.  NIFA anticipates that grant funds will be available for support of this program in FY 2013 for approximately $5,000,000.  This RFA is being released prior to the passage of an Appropriations Act for FY 2013. Enactment of an Appropriations Act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program. Only private, nonprofit entities meeting specific requirements as listed in the Request for Applications are eligible to apply. See the grant application at https://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/communityfoodprojects.cfm for specific eligibility criteria.  Applications are due to www.grants.gov by November 28^th.

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The primary goals of the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (CFPCGP) are to:

•      Meet the food needs of low-income individuals;

•      Increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for the food needs of the  communities;

•      Promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm, and nutrition issues; and

•      Meet specific state, local or neighborhood food and agricultural needs including needs relating to:

o   Infrastructure improvement and development;

o   Planning for long-term solutions; or

o   The creation of innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers.

Community Food Projects are intended to bring together stakeholders from the distinct parts of the food system and to foster understanding of national food security trends and how they might improve local food systems.

Prior to submitting applications, prospective applicants are encouraged to participate in a Community Food Projects Competitive Grants program pre-application submission webinar. The purpose of the webinar is to discuss the matching requirements and what costs are allowable on the project. The URL address for the webinar is https://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/cfp2012.

It is strongly encouraged that all applications participate in the webinar on October 16, 2012 between 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The webinar will be recorded and posted on the NIFA internet site for future reference.

For further information please contact:

Jane M. Clary
Phone: (202) 720 – 3891
Email: jclary@nifa.usda.gov