USDA/AMS: Local Food Promotion Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) to support the development, coordination, and expansion of local and regional food business enterprises to increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products.

Donor Name: Agricultural Marketing Service

State: All States

County: All Counties

U.S. Territories: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 05/16/2022

Size of the Grant: $25,000 – $500,000

Grant Duration: 3 years

Details:

LFPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on:

Supporting the processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products that are marketed locally or regionally, including value-added agricultural products;
Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products;
Assisting with business development plans and feasibility studies;
Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food products and value-added agricultural products in new and existing markets;
Facilitating regional food chain coordination and mid-tier value chain development;
Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste;
Responding to changing technology needs in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing; and
Covering expenses related to costs incurred in obtaining food safety certification and improvements to food safety practices and equipment.

Funding Information

Planning – Minimum ($25,000) and Maximum ($100,000) Duration (18 Months).
Implementation- Minimum ($100,000) and Maximum ($500,000) Duration (36 Months).
Planning – Minimum ($100,000) and Maximum ($500,000) Duration (36 Months).

Project Types

Planning Projects – are used in the planning stages of developing, coordinating, or expanding a food business that supports locally and regionally produced agricultural products and food system infrastructure. Projects may include, but are not limited to:
- Completing a feasibility study for a new intermediary food channel (i.e., food hub), to analyze market potential, capacity, potential competitors, and partners in the region.
- Hiring experts for technical assistance to implement a local/regional food transportation system.
- Hiring experts for training on managing a local/regional food storage or processing facility.
- Devising a business development plan associated with the processing/marketing of local/regional agricultural products, including value-added agricultural products.
Implementation Projects – are used to establish a new food business or to improve or expand an existing food business that supports locally and regionally produced agricultural products and food system infrastructure. Projects may include, but are not limited to:
- Developing or expanding food incubator programs or mid-tier value chains.
- Instituting group-based Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) certification for sellers of food into institutional or wholesale marketing channels, including providing financial support for making changes and upgrades to practices and equipment to improve food safety.
- Cultivating new wholesale market channels through an online portal or virtual marketplace.
- Investigating and implementing more cost-effective means of transportation for food supply chains through backhaul, route optimization, and/or other operational efficiencies.
Farm to Institution Projects – support the development, coordination, and expansion of institutional markets or institutional food service operations, such as pre-K through grade 12 schools, college, university, hospital, local government, tribal, and state cafeterias or meal programs, through local and regional producers and local and regional food enterprises that engage as intermediaries. Projects may include, but are not limited to:
- Support aggregation, processing, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products by increasing the availability of local food products available on the menu of pre-K through grade 12 schools, college, university, hospital, and public dining facilities and hospital and local government, tribal, and state-operated or contracted meal programs (e.g., patient meals in hospitals, pre-K-12 school meals, senior meal programs, afterschool/summer meal programs, and meals programs in jails, detention centers, and prisons).
- Connect, cultivate, and strengthen relationships between local and regional producers and local and regional food businesses that engage as intermediaries with local institutional markets.
- Support the development of business plans and strategies for the inclusion and expansion of local food products, including value-added local agricultural products, in institutional settings and local and regional food system infrastructure in support of farms to the institution.
- Cover expenses incurred in obtaining food safety certification-related and improvements to food safety practices and equipment to meet institutional requirements.

Eligibility Criteria

All applicants must be domestic entities owned, operated, and located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Tribal Governments. Eligible applicants include: