The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry (ODAFF) is announcing their solicitation process to award Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grants for proposals that build resilience in the middle of the supply chain and strengthen local and regional food systems.
Donor Name: Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Food & Forestry (ODAFF)
State: Oklahoma
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/23/2024
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The purpose of the RFSI program is to make competitive grants for projects to expand capacity and infrastructure for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of targeted local and regional agricultural products. This program is intended to support food system crops and products meant for human consumption. Ineligible products include meat and poultry products, which are funded through other USDA programs; wild-caught seafood; animal feed and forage products; fiber; landscaping products; tobacco; and dietary supplements.
ODAFF and USDA encourages projects that benefit underserved farmers and ranchers, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, veteran producers, and processors and other middle-ofthe-supply-chain businesses owned by socially disadvantaged individuals, as defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Eligible Grant Projects
RFSI is intended to serve middle-of-the-supply-chain needs to add value and provide more, new, and better markets for locally or regionally produced food. This program is to support food system crops and products meant for human consumption (excluding meat and poultry products, which are funded through other USDA programs).
- Infrastructure Grants will fund projects that expand capacity and infrastructure for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of targeted agricultural products. Examples include:
- Expanding processing capacities, including adding product types, increasing production volumes, and supporting new wholesale/retail product lines.
- Modernizing equipment or facilities through upgrades, repairs, or retooling; (e.g., adapting product lines for institutional procurement or adding parallel processing capacity).
- Purchase and installation of specialized equipment, such as processing components, sorting equipment, packing and labeling equipment, or delivery vehicles.
- Modernizing manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems.
- Enhancing worker safety through adoption of new technologies or investment in equipment or facility improvements.
- Construction of a new facility.
- Increasing packaging and labeling capacities that meet compliance requirements under applicable laws (e.g. sealing, bagging, boxing, labeling, conveying, and product moving equipment);
- Increasing storage space, including cold storage.
- Develop, customize or install climate‐smart equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases efficiency in water use, improves air and/or water quality, and/or meets one or more of USDA’s climate action goals.
- Modernize equipment or facilities to ensure food safety, including associated Hazard, Analysis, and Critical Control Points (HACCP) consultation, plan development and employee training; and
- Training on the use of all equipment purchased under the grant and associated new processes.
Funding Information
- Infrastructure Grants: RFSI funds may be awarded for projects up to 2 years in duration with funding request ranging from a minimum of $100,000.00 to a maximum of $1,000,000.00. Matching funds will be required; see Matching Funds section below for further details on requirements. Funds will be awarded no earlier than July 1, 2024.
- Equipment-Only Grants: Equipment-Only Grants will range in value from a minimum award of $10,000 and a maximum award of $100,000 and do not require cost sharing or matching. The Equipment Only Grant is a fixed price grant, meaning it will fund only equipment purchases (and not associated facility upgrades, staffing, or other costs), and the amount awarded will be equal to the cost of the equipment up to $100,000. Funds will be awarded no earlier than July 1, 2024.
Activities Eligible for Funding
The following activities or tasks are eligible for funding:
Hiring term-limited personnel to assist with project implementation activities.
- Purchasing special purpose equipment: defined in section 8.2 of the AMS General Terms and Conditions. This includes the purchase of special purpose equipment for institutions or others that will benefit multiple producers through middle-of-the-supply- chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural product.
- Analyzing potential facility upgrades and changes that meet regulatory requirements, obtaining design and/or architecture services, etc. (to the extent these costs are directly related to the project).
- Planning for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) or other food safety or worker safety measures or equipment recommendations; and
- Upgrades or new facilities for processing specific agricultural products, such as:
- On-farm post-harvest processing, preservation, and storage/cold storage
- Post-harvest cleaning and grading
- Aggregator warehouse and storage, including cooperatives
- Purchase of freezing equipment, freezer, or cold storage o Processing, canning, preserving and pasteurization
- Preparation and packing
- Drying, hulling, shelling, and milling; and
- Cooking, baking, juicing, distilling, fermenting
Eligibility Criteria
Entities eligible for RFSI Grants are:
- Agricultural producers or processors, or groups of agricultural producers and processors.
- Nonprofit organizations operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products.
- For-profit entities operating middle of the supply chain activities such as processing, aggregation, or distribution of targeted agricultural products, whose activities are primarily focused for the benefit of local and regional producers, and that meet the eligibility requirements of the SBA small business size standards.
- Local government entities operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products.
- Tribal governments operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products.
- Institutions such as schools, universities, or hospitals bringing producers together to establish cooperative or shared infrastructure or invest in equipment that will benefit multiple producers middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural product.
For more information, visit ODAFF.
