Minnesota: 2023 Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Program - fundsforNGOs

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) offers Local Food Purchase Agreement (LFPA) funds to communities to determine for themselves how to develop and/or supplement projects that buy local food, purchase the majority of food from socially disadvantaged and emerging farmers, and distribute that food to underserved communities.

Donor Name: City of Philadelphia

State: Minnesota

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 05/30/2023

Size of the Grant: $100,000

Details:

The Minnesota Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Program is a new grant program from the MDA to fund projects that:

Buy local food, primarily from socially disadvantaged and emerging farmers
Distribute food to underserved communities throughout the state Proposals are expected to encompass a wide range of models for local food procurement and distribution, knowing that there is no onesize-fits-all model that can effectively serve the whole state. This funding is a short-term economic investment, providing a unique opportunity to build relationships and capacity among stakeholders and the agency.

The program provides funding for projects that buy local food primarily from socially disadvantaged and emerging farmers and distribute that food to underserved communities. The MDA anticipates that applications will propose a wide range of models for local food procurement and distribution, knowing that there is no one-size-fits-all model that can effectively serve the whole state.

Priorities

This grant will prioritize local food procurement from socially disadvantaged and emerging farmers. This includes: farmers of color; American Indian or Alaskan Native farmers; women; veterans; farmers with disabilities; young farmers; beginning farmers; and LGBTQ+ farmers. Additionally, this grant prioritizes collaboration within communities around the state and distributing food in the same community as it was grown. This collaboration supports the development or strengthening of relationships within communities. Individual projects do not need to have large-scale geographic reach; however, consideration will be given to the range of awarded projects to ensure that overall distribution of funding impacts different geographic areas across Minnesota. This grant also prioritizes novel food sourcing and distribution outside of the traditional emergency food/hunger relief structures.

Expected outcomes of MN LFPA funded projects include:

Strengthen local and regional food systems and support local, socially disadvantaged, and emerging farmers/ producers through building and expanding economic
Establish and broaden partnerships with farmers/producers and the food distribution community to ensure distribution of fresh and nutritious foods to underserved
Demonstrate the ability of this one-time investment in community-based projects to:
- Create new and lasting market opportunities for farmers and producers, especially those considered socially disadvantaged and emerging.
- Create new and lasting distribution networks, especially ones that can bring food to underserved communities.
- Create a needs assessment for infrastructure to support local and regional food systems.
Demonstrate the utility of creating formal agreements with farmers that may support them in accessing loans or financing for their farm
Demonstrate overall effectiveness of grant administration as informed by public engagement and the overall impact on Minnesota

Funding Information

The MDA anticipates subawarding approximately $2.125 million in MN LFPA funding in summer 2023 using a competitive review process. They expect 21 to 40 subawards will be issued, but the final number will depend on the size of awards. The maximum award is $100,000 and the minimum award is $10,000. The award will cover projects of any length through September 15, 2024.

Eligible Projects

MN LFPA awards are intended to fund projects that procure food primarily from socially disadvantaged and emerging farmers and distribute that food to underserved communities. Awardees will be expected to complete basic grant administration, including invoicing, reporting, and project evaluation. Projects may also include an engagement and outreach component in order to connect with farmers and/or distribution points.

Projects Must:

Purchase local and regional food, at least 70% of which (by monetary value) must be sourced from within the geographic boundaries of Eligible products include meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, seafood, dairy, grains, legumes, and wild harvested foods. Food may be unprocessed or minimally processed.
Source at least 70% of food purchases (by monetary value) from socially disadvantaged and emerging
Distribute food to communities in Minnesota, at least 75% of which must be underserved communities. Food may be distributed through direct-to-consumer, wholesale, retail, or The food must be provided at no cost.

Note: Individuals cannot be provided direct funds or voucher systems (e.g., gift cards, coupons) to make individualized purchases. Individuals cannot have conditions placed on them to receive the food (i.e., no mandated trainings, classes, or services).

Include work shared between the applicant organization and at least one partner, as detailed in the “Partners and Collaborators” section
Offer written, formal agreements to farmers participating in the These agreements will establish a plan with farmers and express the grantee’s intent to purchase specific items and quantities from the participating farmers during a particular timeframe. Formal agreements can help farmers establish loans and financial assistance. Grantees will be provided an optional template for these agreements.
Follow all applicable federal, state, and local regulations regarding food safety, aggregation, procurement, and

Note: Buying and aggregating food from multiple suppliers may require a food handling license from the MDA.

If proposing to fund an existing effort, projects must supplement (i.e., increase or expand) existing food procurement and food distribution activities.
Not start until the grant contract is signed by all parties and has reached its start
Be completed before September 15,

Projects May Also:

Address food safety training and implementation
Address food waste prevention

Eligibility Criteria

Individuals (including farmers), non-profit organizations, for-profit businesses, tribal nations, government entities, agricultural cooperatives, economic development organizations, and educational institutions are eligible to apply. Applicants are required to partner with at least one other individual or organization as part of their application to support collaboration within communities.

Applicants Must:

Get a Unique Entity ID from the federal System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and provide this ID as part of their application. Please note that applicants are not required to register with SAM.gov, only to get a Unique Entity ID if they do not already have one. Getting a Unique Entity ID validates your legal business name and address as an organization or individual. A instructional video is available if needed.

Be in good standing with the State of Minnesota: