USDA has set aside $5 million dollars for the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (CFPCGP).  This program is intended to develop connections between two or more sectors of the food system; Support the development of entrepreneurial projects; Develop innovative connections between the for-profit and nonprofit food sectors; or Encourage long-term planning activities, and multi-system, interagency approaches with collaborations from multiple stakeholders that build the long-term capacity of communities to address the food and agricultural problems of the communities, such as food policy councils and food planning associations.

Some examples of Community Food projects include, but are not limited to, community gardens with market stands, value chain projects, food hubs, farmers’ markets, farm-to-institutions projects, and marketing & consumer cooperatives. All projects must involve low-income participants, and should address the following issues; Meet the food needs of low-income individuals; Increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for the food needs of the communities; Promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm, and nutrition issues; and Meet specific state, local or neighborhood food and agricultural needs. 

In FY 2012 CFPCGP intends to solicit applications and fund three types of grants. The types are entitled (1) Community Food Projects (CFP), (2) Planning Projects (PP) and Training and Capacity Building (TCB) Projects.

Applications are due November 17th, 2011 and more information regarding this program can be found here.  Please note USDA is offering a pre-application submission webinar to discuss the matching requirement and what costs are allowable on the project on October 27, 2011 between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm Eastern Time. The webinar will be recorded and posted on the NIFA internet site for future reference.

While US farmers do a fantastic job at producing food there are still some people and food pantries across the country who struggle with hunger issues. This is called food insecurity and in 2008, 14.6% of US households at some point during the year did not have enough food to keep all members of their family fed.

As a way to combat this problem USDA has allocated Five Million dollars in funding to the Hunger Free Communities Grant. This grant is available for communities, agencies providing social services, public health organizations, educational entities and other non-profit entities such as food banks. Funding can be used for research, planning, and hunger relief activities including but not limited to: food distribution, community outreach, initiatives that improve access to food, and the development of new resources and strategies to reduce or prevent hunger and food insecurity. Applicants can only apply once but there are two different areas their proposals could fall into: planning and assessment grants and then implementation grants. USDA does anticipate this grant program being available in future years.

Projects can last up to two years, and there is a 20 percent matching requirement. Grant Applications are due September 1, 2010 and more information can be found at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/outreach/documents/hfc_rfa.pdf