About
The Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) program supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The program focuses on strengthening the viability and resilience of regional food economies through collaboration and coordination. In 2020, USDA awarded 23 partnerships in 15 states.
- Grant
- National
- District of Columbia
- Puerto Rico
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Guam
- American Samoa
- Northern Mariana Islands
Eligibility
Being a partnership program, applicants must consist of multiple entities and organizations. This program is not intended for projects conducted by single organizations with several collaborators, but rather for multi-sector partnerships of organizations coming together on more or less equal footing to execute multi-faceted projects. A partnership is an agreement between one or more eligible entities and one more eligible partner.
Partnerships that include “Limited Resource Entities” are strongly encouraged to apply. AMS defines “Limited Resource Entities” as any organization that provides technical assistance services to and engages historically underserved farmers and ranchers in addressing their needs. See USDA definition of Historically Underserved Groups for further information.
Eligible Partners include:
State Agencies or Regional Authorities
Philanthropic Corporations
Institutions of Higher Education
Commercial, Federal or Farm Credit System Lending Institutions
Private Corporations
Eligible Entities include:
Individual producers
Farmer or rancher cooperatives, producer networks or associations
Majority-controlled producer based business ventures
Food Councils (a.k.a food policy council)
Community Supported Agriculture Networks or Associations
Local Governments
Nonprofit Corporations
Public Benefit Corporations
Economic Development Corporations
Regional Farmers Market Authorities
Tribal Governments
Terms
As a program designed to use public investment to catalyze the development and expansion of local and regional food economies, RFSP grants require a non-federal cash match equal to 25% of the total amount of federal funding provided. As a result, in-kind contributions do not count towards the match; however, in-kind contributions do contribute to priority consideration during the administrative review portion of the application process.
Resources
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Details
Release Date
May 5, 2021
Deadline
July 6, 2021
Organization
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
Financial Instrument
Grant
Minimum Award Amount
$100,000
Maximum Award Amount
$1,000,000
Total Program Funding
$5,000,000
Image Credit
Updated July 13, 2021
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