The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Program is designed to develop and administer state-coordinated initiatives that enhance resilience in the middle-of-the-supply-chain operations while strengthening local and regional food systems.
Donor Name: Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI)
Territory: U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/05/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
In partnership with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), CFVI will conduct a competitive solicitation process to distribute funds across two grant categories. The Infrastructure Grant Program and the Equipment Only Grant Program will provide support to projects expanding middle-of-the-food-supply-chain capacity for locally and regionally produced foods and offer more and better market opportunities and new streams of revenue to small and mid-sized agricultural producers, including those who may not have access to value-added opportunities or processing to meet market demand for premium or value-added products, such as underserved producers.
The goal of the program is to create more and better processing options for local and regional producers across the food supply chain. The USVI RFSI Program, prioritizes expanding capacity and infrastructure for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of locally and regionally produced food products (excluding meat, poultry, and wild-caught seafood, among others).
Funding Priorities
- Territorial funding priorities based on community outreach:
- Expand capacity for processing, aggregation and distribution of agricultural products to create more and better markets for producers;
- Improve the capacity of entities to comply with federal, state, and local food safety requirements;
- Improve operations through training opportunities; and
- Modernize processing and manufacturing equipment
- Federal funding priorities:
- Underserved farmers and ranchers
- New and beginning farmers and ranchers
- Veteran producers
- Processors and other middle of the supply chain businesses owned by socially disadvantaged individuals, as defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
- The RFSI program will focus on funding projects that:
- Expand capacity for processing, aggregation and distribution of agricultural products to create more and better markets for producers;
- Modernize manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems;
- Enhance worker safety through adoption of new technologies or investment in equipment or facility improvements;
- Improve the capacity of entities to comply with federal, state, and local food safety requirements;
- Improve operations through training opportunities;
- Support construction of a new facility;
- Modernize or expand an existing facility (including expansion and modifications to existing buildings and/or construction of new buildings at existing facilities);
- Construction of wastewater management structures, etc.;
- Modernize processing and manufacturing equipment; and
- Develop, customize, or install equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases efficiency in water use, improves.
Funding Information
- The US Virgin Islands RFSI Program, allocated with $2,070,798 in funding, prioritizes expanding capacity and infrastructure for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of specific agricultural products (including eggs and honey but excluding wild caught fish, meat, and poultry).
- The Infrastructure Grant Program will provide up to $500,000 in funding and the Simplified Equipment-Only Grant Program will provide an additional $1,000,000.
- Infrastructure grants range in value, ranging from a minimum award of $100,000 to a maximum award of $500,000, with a 50% matching fund requirement (though certain historically underserved groups may qualify for reduced match of 25%). Simplified Equipment-Only grants range from a minimum award of $10,000 to a maximum award of $100,000, with no matching fund requirement.
Grant Period
The period of performance will begin on March 1, 2025 and must end on or before December 31, 2026.
Allowable Activities
Allowable activities or tasks that could be part of such projects may include:
- Hiring term-limited personnel to assist with project implementation activities;
- Purchasing special purpose equipment, including 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 drying equipment, freezing equipment, freezer, or cold storage;
- Processing, canning, preserving, and pasteurization;
- Preparation and packing;
- Drying, hulling, shelling, and milling; and
- Cooking, baking, juicing, distilling, and fermenting.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility is open to domestically owned entities with facilities physically located within the territory of the US Virgin Islands, including:
- Agricultural producers or processors, and groups thereof;
- Nonprofit organizations engaged in middle-of-the-supply-chain activities, such as processing, aggregation, and distribution of designated agricultural products;
- For-profit entities involved in middle-of-the-supply-chain activities like processing, aggregation, or distribution of designated agricultural products, with a primary focus on local and regional producer benefit, that meet SBA small business size standards;
- Local government entities participating in middle-of-the-supply-chain activities, such as processing, aggregation, and distribution of designated agricultural products;
- Tribal governments engaged in middle-of-the-supply-chain activities, such as processing, aggregation, and distribution of designated agricultural products; and
- Institutions such as schools, universities, or hospitals that facilitate collaboration among producers or invest in equipment to benefit multiple producers in middle-of-the-supply-chain activities, including processing, aggregation, and distribution of designated agricultural product.
For more information, visit CFVI.
