The Connecticut Department of Agriculture announces the availability of grant funds to build resilience across the middle of the food supply chain.
Donor Name: Connecticut Department of Agriculture
State: Connecticut
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/09/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The purpose of the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program is to build and establish resilience in the middle of the food supply chain; to provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses; to support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, and fair wages; and create new and safe job opportunities.
Funds will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry.
RFSI seeks to expand capacity and infrastructure for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of food products grown in Connecticut.
Types of Grant
- Infrastructure Grant
- Equipment Only Grant
Funding Priorities
- Projects that increase aggregation of farm products through food hubs and informal producer networks, which focuses on, but is not exclusive to, wholesale buyers
- Projects that increase the number of and access to processing facilities including commercial kitchens and co-packers, to preserve farm products and create value-added food products
- Projects that increase delivery infrastructure (such as vehicles) benefiting multiple farm business with eligible products and cold storage for aggregated produce, dairy, and aquaculture products
- Projects that support underserved communities and demonstrate local support for the project.
Funding Information
$100,000 to $250,000.
Allowable Activities
- Hiring term-limited personnel to assist with project implementation activities
- Purchasing special purpose equipment: 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
- 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
- Processing, canning, preserving and pasteurization
- Preparation and packing
- Drying, hulling, shelling, and milling
- Cooking, baking, juicing, distilling, fermenting
- Construction or renovation activities, including:
- Additions, improvements, modifications, replacements, rearrangements, reinstallations, renovations, alterations, or construction on an existing building or facility
- Construction and construction-related materials, which may include, but are not limited to, the purchase of building materials such as wood, nails, concrete, asphalt, roofing, gravel, sand, paint, insulation, drywall, or plumbing
- Special purpose vehicles relevant to the scope of work, such as delivery vehicles or refrigerated trucks
- Repair or update existing equipment
- Rental costs
- Retail related activities can include creating distribution channels to new retail opportunities, or expanding processing and packaging capacities, including adding product types, increasing production volumes, and supporting new retail product lines
- Project-readiness and pre-development expenses, such as feasibility studies, permits, design, engineering, regulatory. However, these can be no more than 50% of total grant request. The project must include implementation of these plans and the grantee must be able to report on supply chain impact outcomes of the project
- Indirect costs, typically 10%. Please note, if you have a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), a copy must be submitted with your application
- Shipping costs for equipment/supplies, as long as it is on the quote.
Eligibility Criteria
- Agricultural producers or processors, or groups of agricultural producers and processors conducting middle of the supply chain activities
- Nonprofit organizations operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities
- For-profit entities operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities 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
- Tribal governments operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities
- 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 through middle-of-the-supply-chain activities.
Deadlines
- RFSI Equipment Only grant: 9 April, 2025.
- RFSI Infrastructure Grant: 16 April, 2025.
For more information, visit CDA.
