The GrowBoston is seeking applications for its Innovative Food Production Grant to support the implementation and use of innovative growing methods, technologies, locations, etc., in an urban setting, which may include controlled environment spaces and emerging or innovative technology.
Donor Name: GrowBoston
State: Massachusetts
City: Boston
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/30/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
GrowBoston is offering a total of $180,000 to support the development of innovative methods in urban agriculture, including controlled environment spaces. This may include innovative strategies, new technologies, food production in innovative locations, food production techniques that mitigate or adapt to climate change, etc. Examples of projects include hydroponics, aquaponics, vertical farming, indoor, rooftop, etc., as well as indigenous or non-traditional agricultural practices. These projects are intended to serve the public purpose of producing food in Boston for the benefit of Boston residents, particularly those facing food insecurity. These grants are being made available from City of Boston Operating Funds.
Allowed Uses of Funding
Funds are intended to be used to support the implementation of innovative food production strategies, techniques, equipment, etc. Food production must take place in the city of Boston for the benefit of Boston residents. Eligible projects include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- Hydroponics: Growing plants in a water-based indoor environment without using traditional soil-based farming methods
- Terraponics: Growing plants in a hydroponic system without removing the soil from their roots to enhance plant success
- Aeroponics: Growing plants in a dry, indoor environment using mist to deliver nutrients
- Vertical growing: Growing plants in indoor vertical systems to conserve space and maximize output, such as stacked shelves, tall pillars, or vertical green wall installations, using hydroponics, aeroponics, or another technology
- Indoor growing: Growing plants in an indoor, controlled environment
- Winter greenhouse or hoop house food production: Growing produce in a controlled greenhouse or hoop house environment in what is traditionally the off-season
- Mushroom production, mycoculture or fungiculture: Growing mushrooms and/or other fungi in a controlled indoor or outdoor environment as a source of food
- Aquaponics: Raising fish and growing plants in the same environment to reduce waste and mimic a small ecosystem
- Innovations that increase the sustainability of agricultural production and assist in the adaptation to or mitigation of climate change
- Agricultural activities considered traditional but carried out in a non-traditional location or environment such as urban aquaculture: farming fish, shellfish, or seaweed intended for food consumption, in a controlled environment, whether in farms along the coastline of the city of Boston or in water tanks on land
- Innovations in beekeeping practices, or beekeeping in innovative locations
- Permaculture: Conscious design of agricultural systems to center the resilience and diversity of ecosystems and reduction of waste
- Piloting of other new technologies or agriculture strategies including those that use innovation to increase productivity and grow more food with the same resource input
- Up to 10% of the grant budget can be for indirect/administrative costs or a fiscal sponsorship fee.
- The following expenses are not allowed using City of Boston operating budget grant funds: ongoing staff costs, ongoing program costs, ongoing administrative costs, gift cards, rent, utilities, alcoholic beverages, and fundraising or lobbying activities.
Eligibility Criteria
Recipients must be a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit or a community-based organization that is fiscally sponsored by a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. No grants will be awarded to individuals or for-profit businesses. All fiscal sponsorship arrangements must comply with relevant IRS regulations.
Selection Criteria
Eligible applications will be evaluated by an evaluation committee on a comparative basis, and scored based on the following criteria:
- Organizational food-producing knowledge and experience
- Reasonableness of timeline
- Reasonableness of budget
- Proof of community support for significant physical changes to the neighborhood
- Impact/benefit of project to the persons, neighborhoods, and communities served
- Predicted sustainability of the impact of the investment beyond the first year
- Extent to which the project will serve individuals experiencing food insecurity
- Environmental sustainability of the project being proposed such as use of organic or regenerative practices, reduction of fossil fuel usage, and implementation of closed loop systems.
For more information, visit GrowBoston.
