The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is administering grant funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI).
The open application period for this project has closed. The funding source for this program is not recurring, and there are currently no plans for additional funding.
The purpose of the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Cooperative Agreement Program (RFSI) is to assist U.S. states and territories to build resilience in the middle of the supply chain and strengthen local and regional food systems by creating new revenue streams for their state's producers. An emphasis was made to fund projects that benefit small and emerging farms and food businesses from historically disadvantaged groups. The program also aims to:
- Support development of value-added products available to consumers;
- Support proposals that provide fair prices, fair wages and new and safe job opportunities that keep profits in rural communities; and
- Increase diversity in processing options in terms of business model approaches, geography, and availability to underserved communities.
Funds support expanded capacity and infrastructure 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.
The program offered two grant tracks - Infrastructure and Simplified Equipment Only. Both tracks provide funds for projects that meet goals stated above.
Infrastructure Projects
Infrastructure project applications have been recommended to USDA for funding and are currently under review. For information about what kind of projects were eligible for infrastructure funding during the application period, please refer to the United States Department of Agriculture’s RFSI
webpage.
Simplified Equipment-Only Projects
Oregon Department of Agriculture in partnership with United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service will administer 17 simplified equipment-only projects in Oregon ranging from $17,000 - $100,000.
Read the full award announcement from USDA
here.
Resources