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Ananda Fraser

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Agriculture [awarded $95,949](https://www.ri.gov/press/view/35987) in grants in 2019 to 12 local agriculture and food businesses under the Local Agriculture and Seafood Act Grant Program. The goal of the program, which was established by the Local Agriculture and Seafood Act (LASA) of 2012, is to support the growth, development, and marketing of local food and seafood in Rhode Island. It is made possible by funding from the State of Rhode Island.


Project priorities for the 2019 LASA Grants Program were:

- Supporting the entry, growth, and/or sustainability of [small](https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43742/36482_eib110.pdf?v=0) or [beginning](https://lrftool.sc.egov.usda.gov/BFRP_Definition.aspx) agriculture producers (including aquaculture producers) and fishermen/women;

- Fostering new cooperatives, partnerships, and/or collaborations among Rhode Island producers and producer-supporting organizations;

- Supporting new products or new sales channels with clearly defined markets, including institutional purchasing of local food;

- Protecting the future availability of agricultural land for producers, including farm transition planning and implementation;

- Relation to activities identified in Rhode Island’s Food Strategy [Relish Rhody](http://www.dem.ri.gov/relishrhody/).



The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Agriculture awarded $95,949 in grants in 2019 to 12 local agriculture and food businesses under the Local Agriculture and Seafood Act Grant Program. The goal of the program, which was established by the Local Agriculture and Seafood Act (LASA) of 2012, is to support the growth, development, and marketing of local food and seafood in Rhode Island. It is made possible by funding from the State of Rhode Island.

Project priorities for the 2019 LASA Grants Program were:
- Supporting the entry, growth, and/or sustainability of small or beginning agriculture producers (including aquaculture producers) and fishermen/women;
- Fostering new cooperatives, partnerships, and/or collaborations among Rhode Island producers and producer-supporting organizations;
- Supporting new products or new sales channels with clearly defined markets, including institutional purchasing of local food;
- Protecting the future availability of agricultural land for producers, including farm transition planning and implementation;
- Relation to activities identified in Rhode Island’s Food Strategy Relish Rhody.

Applicants must be based in the State of Rhode Island. Eligible entities include for-profit farmers, fishermen/women, producer groups, and non-profit organizations however only small and/or beginning farmers, or producer groups of small or beginning farmers, and aquaculture operators are eligible to apply for capital grants
Ineligible activities include non-project related travel, scholarships, general operating funds, on-going capital campaigns, political or policy advocacy campaigns, conference/workshop attendance fees, etc.
All costs associated with developing or submitting a proposal in response to this request, or with providing oral or written clarification of proposal content, are ineligible expenses and shall be the sole responsibility of the applicant. The State assumes no responsibility for these costs.
Projects may be up to 24 months in duration. Grantees are responsible for interim and final reports. Interim reports are due after 1 year and final reports are due after 2 years from signing of grant agreement. Any grantees who do not provide timely interim and final grant reports will be ineligible for future LASA Grant Program funding.

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

Seafood

Eels

Fish

Shellfish

Atka Mackerel

Carp

Catfish

Flounder

Goosefish

Herring

Hybrid Striped Bass

Largemouth Bass

Ornamental Fish

Pacific Cod

Pacific Ocean Perch

Pollock

Recreational Sportfish

Red Drum

Sablefish

Salmon

Sole

Sturgeon

Tilapia

Trout

Tuna

Turbot

Crustaceans

Molluscs

Crab

Dungeness Crab

King Crab

Snow Crab

Southern Tanner Crab

Crayfish

Lobster

Geoduck

Squid

Aquaculture

Funding Priorities
The LASA Advisory Committee sets priorities each grant year and makes recommendations to the Director of the RIDEM. Project priorities for the 2020-2021 LASA Grants Program are:
- Supporting the entry, growth, and/or sustainability of small or beginning agriculture producers (including aquaculture producers) and fishermen/women. Additionally, supporting farmers and fishers that are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).
- AND/OR Support the entry, growth, and/or sustainability of small or beginning agriculture producers
- AND/OR Foster new cooperatives, partnerships, and/or collaborations among Rhode Island producers and producer-supporting organizations.
- AND/OR Support capacity building for new products or new sales channels with clearly defined markets, assistance with farmers/ fishers adapting to new methods of selling to customers (online, home delivery, shipping), diversification of market channels and development of more on farm processing capacity.
- AND/OR Protect the future availability of agricultural land for producers, including farm transition planning and implementation.
- AND/OR Assistance with on farm Food Safety improvements assistance, including the developing of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans, Food Safety Plans and compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
- AND/OR Foster and build capacity for markets connecting local farms and fishers with Rhode Island’s food insecure communities.

Application Submission
Please note that the application is provided in SurveyMonkey. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM on Sunday, June, 13. We recommend that you look at the questions and prepare your short answer responses and any additional documents for attachments ahead of time -- before you begin to fill out the application. You may download the PDF version and use it as a guide for creating a Word document. If you prepare answers in a word processing program such as Word, you should be able to copy and paste your answers into SurveyMonkey.
Please see the LASA Grant Request for Proposals (RFP) before submitting your application.

Farmers Market

Español

Native Americans

People Of Color

Women

Landscape

High Tunnel

Air Quality

Certification

Carbon Capture

Regenerative

Wildlife and Pollinator Habitat

Soil Health

Certified Organic

Certified Grassfed

Cover Crops

Reduced Tillage

Food Systems

Socially Disadvantaged

Applications must be submitted through the Division of Agriculture’s webpage at www.dem.ri.gov/agriculture. Instructions for using the system can be found in the Request for Proposals. The registration process can take time, so read the instructions and start as soon as you are able.

Before applying, make sure you have met the below preconditions:
In order to qualify, applicants must provide the following:
- Farm information must be enrolled with the Rhode Island Produce Safety Program
- A completed grant application. You may find it helpful to draft your answers first, and then copy and paste into the online forms. Use the FSMA Grant Worksheet for this purpose.
- Applicants must identify produce safety risks on their farm and describe how the project will help prevent or reduce those risks.
 
HOW TO ENROLL IN THE RHODE ISLAND PRODUCE SAFETY PROGRAM: Farms must complete the following steps in order to enroll their farm in the Rhode Island Produce Safety Program:
- Access the RI Produce Safety Program Enrollment form
- Complete the form with all required information.
- Email completed form to Abigail.Phillips@dem.ri.gov or mail to RIDEM – Produce Safety Program, 235 Promenade Street, Providence RI 02908.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management – Division of Agriculture (RIDEM) is pleased to announce the availability of up to $35,000 of funding in grant opportunities to assist eligible Rhode Island farmers and food businesses with projects that have goals to improve quality, efficiency, and food safety.


Rhode Island Produce Safety Improvement Grants help Rhode Island produce growers implement on-farm food safety practices, transition to compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, and meet market demands for on-farm food safety.



The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management – Division of Agriculture (RIDEM) is pleased to announce the availability of up to $35,000 of funding in grant opportunities to assist eligible Rhode Island farmers and food businesses with projects that have goals to improve quality, efficiency, and food safety.

Rhode Island Produce Safety Improvement Grants help Rhode Island produce growers implement on-farm food safety practices, transition to compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, and meet market demands for on-farm food safety.

This grant is available to farms that are subject to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. To be eligible, farms must:
- Grow, harvest, pack or hold “covered produce” as defined by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR);
- Have annual produce sales, averaged over the past three years, of greater than $25,000*; and
- Have enrolled in the Rhode Island Produce Safety Program
 
*A farm with an average annual monetary value of produce sold during the previous 3-year period of less than $25,000, adjusted for inflation using 2011 as the baseline year for calculating the adjustment, is not covered by the Produce Safety Rule. The average 3-year value for 2017–2019 is $28,075. See FSMA Inflation Adjusted Cut Offs for additional information.

If the applicant has less than three years of sales, take the average of annual produce sales, adjusted for inflation as stated above, for the years that the farm has been in operation.

Eligible uses of program funds:
- Specialized Equipment and Supplies: produce harvest/storage improvement
- Health/Hygiene: cleaning/sanitization tools, signage, compost/manure handling improvements
- Wash and Pack: washroom supplies, single use packaging

Program funds cannot be used for the following purposes:
- Construction and Construction Supplies
- Projects that fail to demonstrate how produce safety risks will be prevented or reduced
- Reimbursement for completed projects

Trade Relief

Public Health

Compliance

Marketing

Facilities

List of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) Funding Opportunities