California Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI)

The purpose of the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program is to build 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 to create new and safe job opportunities. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), conducts competitive solicitations to award RFSI funds to projects that maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency.

Projects should support infrastructure in the middle-of-the-supply-chain for California food and farm businesses and other eligible entities. The food supply chain involves the following stages: 1. Production, 2. Processing, 3. Aggregation and Distribution, and 4. Markets and Consumers. RFSI proposals must support the middle of the supply chain, which refers to stages 2. Processing and 3. Aggregation and Distribution. This program supports food system crops and products meant for human consumption (excluding meat and poultry products, which are funded through other USDA programs).

2024: The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) partnered with CDFA to award $21.5 million for 117 projects through the RFSI Program. 2025: A limited Equipment-Only Solicitation (Request for Proposals available June 11, 2025; proposals due 5:00 p.m. PT July 17, 2025) distributed funds remaining from the 2024 solicitation. Funded through USDA AMS.

Program Status: Closed. The 2025 Equipment-Only Solicitation is now closed. Please note that additional funding is not anticipated at this time. Please sign up for the RFSI email list if you would like to be notified of future RFSI updates.