Transportation and Marketing

Regional Food System Partnerships Program

Fiscal Year 2022 Description of Funded Projects

Number of Grants Awarded: 35

Amount of Funds Awarded: $19,153,031.72

For more information, please visit the grant program's website: 

https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsp

NOTE: The below project descriptions were provided by the grant recipients.

Arizona

Recipient: Pinnacle Prevention Corp., Chandler, AZ

District: AZ-009

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $475,472

Match Amount: $146,451

Total Project Amount: $621,923

Implementing a Vibrant, Sustainable, and Equitable Community Food System Across the Arizona 

Food Systems Network (AZFSN) 

Arizona Food Systems Network (AZFSN) is a statewide food system council representing a diverse 

collaboration of nonprofit organizations, higher education academic institutions, government agencies, 

food system practitioners, and food producers connected through regional food coalitions across the 

state. After a multi-year planning process engaging over 150 food system advocates, food producers, 

tribal communities, practitioners, and leaders AZFSN has launched the first ever statewide food action 

plan. The purpose of the project is to advance the implementation of the AZFSN Statewide Food Action 

Plan priorities, goals, objectives, and strategies for action. The intended project goals are to 1) 

strengthen capacity to support plan implementation, and 2) deepen the connection across existing 

partners to institutionalize strategies for each plan priority area. Activities to achieve the project goals 

will include convening and building the capacity of partners working across the state to deepen the 

connection and increase access to expertise supporting the implementation of priority strategies, 

elevating and centering local food producer voices in the implementation of plan activities, identifying 

and sharing successes and lessons learned for scaling efforts, and ultimately informing investment, 

policies, and practices in how stakeholders grow, move, share, and think about food across Arizona. The 

outcomes of this project will result in a reimagined and more vibrant, sustainable, and equitable 

community food system for all Arizonans. Intended beneficiaries include historically underserved 

farmers and ranchers, local food producers, individuals experiencing nutrition insecurity, and 

institutions implementing food system programs and services. This grant will include subcontracts for 

food action plan implementation support with eight (8) Arizona-based regional food coalitions including: 

Flagstaff Foodlink, Verde Valley Food Policy Council, Yuma HEAL Coalition, Pima County Food Alliance, 
Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Maricopa County Food System Coalition, Coalition for Farmland 

Preservation; and a Tribal Collaborative workgroup.

California

Recipient: The Regents of the University of California – Agriculture & Natural Resource, Davis, CA

District: CA-003

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $990,752

Match Amount: $499,874

Total Project Amount: $1,490,626

Building Community Resiliency and Strengthening Local Food Systems During Emergencies in 

Coastal Northern California 

The California North Coast Emergency Food System Partnership will create additional markets for local 

food producers in emergency food supply chains to reduce the risk of lost income and strengthen local 

and regional food systems. Over the past five years, Northern California has experienced catastrophic 

wildfires, landslides, persistent drought, the pandemic, and economic downturns, putting increasing 

pressure on local producers, the local/regional food system, and emergency food aid. The project 

encompasses chronic emergency food assistance (i.e.,groceries) and crisis emergency food assistance 

(i.e., prepared meals at evacuation shelters provided during disasters). The project brings together a 

diverse set of project partners including food producers, food policy councils, community-based 

organizations, local and tribal governments, cooperative extension, and emergency planners to build 

upon shared experiences from responding to climate-change induced natural disasters and the 

pandemic. The Partnership will create an emergency food network across six Northern California 

counties (encompassing 12,545 square miles). The project will implement activities that expand 

economic efficiency, strengthen the economic viability of local producers, build community resilience, 

and center equity in emergency food systems. The project objectives are to (1) create additional market 

opportunities for local producers within emergency food supply chains to mitigate risk and maintain 

income during disasters; (2) build collective capacity to improve emergency food systems by creating a 

strong network of partners, develop emergency feeding plans, and inventory local emergency food 

supply chain infrastructure; and (3) identify recommendations to address barriers to establishing 

effective local and regional emergency food supply chains.

Recipient: Impact Justice, Oakland, CA

District: CA-013

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $100,000

Match Amount: $37,090

Total Project Amount: $137,090

Nourishing Justice: A Feasibility Study for Farm to Corrections Work in New England 

This project brings together a diverse group of partners to explore an innovative strategy to direct 

nourishing, locally and regionally produced food into New England’s correctional facilities. Led by Impact 

Justice, a national research and innovation center working to foster a humane, responsive, and 
restorative system of justice for all, partners will also include Farm to Institution New England (FINE), the 

Maine Department of Corrections, and organizations and individuals with expertise in food systemfocused reentry programming and cooperative development. 

This project will focus on exploration and planning for a technical assistance entity that would increase 

regional food procurement by prisons and jails in the six states of New England: Maine, New Hampshire, 

Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The collaboration will 1) Conduct a 

comprehensive assessment of food procurement needs and constraints in New England correctional 

facilities. 2) Investigate perceived and actual barriers to local and regional producers/food hubs selling 

food to New England correctional facilities and identify types of support needed to do so. 3) Determine 

the feasibility of developing a technical assistance consultancy that would facilitate farm to corrections 

procurement in New England, and if the model is deemed feasible, draft a blueprint for such a 

consultancy that functions as a cooperative owned and operated by people who have been directly 

impacted by incarceration.

Recipient: Siskiyou County Economic Development Council, Yreka, CA

District: CA-001

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $353,442

Match Amount: $118,548

Total Project Amount: $471,990

Connecting Siskiyou’s Small Farms and Institutions 

The agricultural economic sector in Siskiyou County is facing a dire crisis due to persistent drought, yearover-year wildfires, and environmental pressures faced by small farms. This, paired with major market 

shifts, is culminating in the urgent decision for small farms across Siskiyou to innovate or exit. Siskiyou 

Economic Development Council (SEDC) is pairing with key partners throughout Siskiyou and the greater 

region to launch an initiative to expand market opportunities for Siskiyou producers. These efforts will 

create opportunities for farms to diversify and create business resiliency in the face of catastrophe. 

Connecting Siskiyou’s Small Farms and Institutions will establish a critical network of local farms and 

regional institutional food buyers throughout Siskiyou County and its bordering communities. Through 

one-on-one technical assistance, SEDC will work to develop business plans and strategies that will 

connect key stakeholders and identify gaps in the necessary infrastructure to cultivate a thriving farmto-institution economy. 

This project will provide technical assistance to producers to develop capacity, skill, and scale to address 

the institutional markets and will cultivate a strong foundation for ongoing connections between buyers 

and small farms. This program will build upon the SEDC's work in the agriculture sector and community 

food system and will leverage existing relationships with agricultural producers, support organizations, 

and expert business consultants.

This program will strengthen the institutional local food system, identify gaps in infrastructure and 

supply chain partners, and connect local small farms to viable new markets to create long-term 

sustainability for one of Siskiyou's most important economic sectors.
Colorado

Recipient: El Paso County Public Health, Colorado Springs, CO

District: CO-005

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $147,084

Match Amount: $46,274

Total Project Amount: $193,358

Central Colorado Foodshed Partnership 

The Central Colorado Foodshed Partnership’s overarching purpose is to establish a baseline 

understanding of our food system while bringing together a new partnership that includes private, 

higher education, and city and county government entities. This is an innovative partnership that brings 

new energy and approaches to traditionally siloed areas of work.

The 2-year planning grant activitiesinclude: inventory and catalog farms and ranches beginning with El 

Paso, Pueblo, and Fremont Counties while assessing future expansion of our described region; conduct a 

food system resilience assessment; host agricultural producer, food access, and consumer focus groups; 

utilize a developmental evaluation approach; plan and host the inaugural Central Colorado Foodshed 

Summit (Summit); and develop a strategic plan that outlines objectives, outcomes, indicators, and 

evaluation methods.

Farmers and producers within Central Colorado (including El Paso County (EPC), Fremont, and Pueblo 

Counties initially) are the intended beneficiaries who will benefit from a robust food system resilience 

assessment and farm and ranch inventory. The inventory will help regional stakeholders better 

understand how local and regional food is grown, including direct distribution points and any retail or 

institutional buyers. The inventory will also help inform EPC consumer awareness campaigns about 

opportunities for purchasing local food, thereby strengthening the region’s farm and ranch direct-toconsumer network. The food system resilience assessment will identify areas for needed support such 

as infrastructure and resource development. In addition, beneficiaries will include food system partners 

working in other sectors, as we intend to include and connect their work via project communications, 

key informant interviews, and other methods to be determined. 

Recipient: Nourish Colorado, Denver, CO

District: CO-001

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $ 998,758

Match Amount: $ 250,000

Total Project Amount: $1,248,758

Collaborative Models and Standardizing Metrics for Local Purchasing among Rural Institutions 

Project (CMSM Project) 

The CMSM project aims to infuse more resources and cooperation among institutions, farmers, and 

food hubs so they can build their capacity and networks. The goal of the project is to develop baseline 

local procurement data and metrics and create and test a model for collaborative purchasing in 

southeastern Colorado. This will allow us to strengthen partnerships in the region, provide more training 

and technical assistance support, agricultural producer support, evaluation support, and build the 
overall capacity of the program to promote farm to institution programs in southeast Colorado and build 

a model that can be replicated in other regions of Colorado.

The partnership will include Nourish Colorado, which will manage the overall project, the Colorado 

Departments of Education (CDE), Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), and Human Services (CDHS), as 

the providers of publicly funded meal programs like K12 school lunches, early childhood education (ECE) 

meals, and Older Adult (OA) Meal Programs to assist us with developing relationships with institutional 

partners. We are partnering with Ogallala Commons to assist with strengthening partnerships with 

farmers and producers in southeastern Colorado, as well as Colorado State University (CSU) Food 

Systems Institute for Engagement to assist with engagement and evaluation. Each partner will have a 

role in each focus area. Additionally, the project will include one to two convenings of all partners every 

year of the project to discuss initial goals, data collection, and next steps.

District of Columbia

Recipient: Dreaming Out Loud Inc., Washington, D.C.

District: DC – At-Large

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $ 999,512

Match Amount: $ 270,375

Total Project Amount: $1,269,887

Scaling Cooperative Social Enterprise: Expanding Market Access for Underserved Farmers and 

Food Makers in the Washington, DC Region 

Our proposed implementation project offers creative solutions to barriers to market access faced by 

historically underserved farmers and food entrepreneurs. As an expert provider of technical assistance 

and accelerator programming to food entrepreneurs and farmers, Dreaming Out Loud (DOL) will partner 

with the DC Office of Planning’s Food Policy Division (OP) and DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) to carry out the 

project. This is particularly timely since in Summer 2022, DOL is set to expand by co-locating its services 

in DCCK’s new 36,000 square foot urban food hub and workforce development center. This facility will 

give DOL and DCCK the infrastructure to expand training, technical assistance, marketing activities, and 

direct sales opportunities through DOL and DCCK’s social enterprise supply chains. This project will 

increase access to (1) food system infrastructure such as traditional and non-traditional commercial 

kitchen space, refrigerated trucks, and cold storage through technical assistance and network 

development; (2) qualified mentors and coaches; 3) proven accelerator programs and workforce 

development services; and 4) contracts offered by public institutions, federal and local nutrition 

programs, and other anchor institutions. Together, these efforts will improve marketing opportunities in 

our regional food system for historically underserved participants by closing gaps in physical, social, and 

financial capital. The cross-cutting networks of the project partners reflect decades of market-building 

expertise and the unmatched visibility produced by their value-chain-building successes during the 

COVID-19 pandemic.

Florida

Recipient: THF Natural Resources LLC, Hilliard, FL

District: FL - 004

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $215,750
Match Amount: $72,375

Total Project Amount: $288,125

Ensuring a Resilient Food Distribution System in Florida 

In 2020, THF Natural Resources LLC / DBA Traders Hill Farm (THF) received a USDA AMS Local Food 

Promotion Program grant (“Building a Sustainable Food Hub: Farm2Fork Connection”) based on its pilot 

program to purchase and accumulate productsfrom farmers unable to sell product (with pandemic 

shutdowns), repack the value added mix of products with THF lettuces, take orders electronically, and 

distribute value added product directly to consumers across Northeast and North Central Florida and 

South Georgia. This ongoing effort has sustained farmers, reduced farm waste, and provided consumers 

with a value-added food experience of fresh, local, and regional products. 

More importantly, THF has been boots on the ground in addressing the food supply aggregation, 

packing, and distribution dilemma with an extraordinary group of partners who are willing and 

committed to addressing how to leap past the hard lessons to a next iteration solution. This project is a 

broad collaboration of farmers, non-profit organizations, K-12 school systems, institutions of higher 

learning, regional and local government entities, and private enterprises to optimize access and 

distribution of fresh regionally grown food in Florida and South Georgia. The proposal focuses on

strengthening the viability and resilience of regional food economies through collaboration and 

coordination and has three parts: 1) Using professional food system experts, THF proposes to capture 

lessons learned regarding strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, gaps, and barriers to food access and 

distribution in Nassau County (and Alachua County), map present food access and distribution points, 

and map effective, efficient alternatives. These discussions will serve as the basis for a Community 

Nutrition Alliance, an aggregator of food donated, gleaned, or purchased with the intent to redistribute 

to alliance members based on their customers’ needs. 2) Revisiting a conceptual feasibility study for a 

regional food processing hub done pre-pandemic, overlay the many lessons learned about direct 

marketing and value-add products by producer farmers participating in the Local Food Promotion 

Program grant. Capture the many economies of scale, speed to market, and sustainability advancements 

into a pandemic-proof Food Innovation Hub that provides benefits for all participating producers. 3)

Designing a risk mitigated agricultural complex that addresses gaps, removes barriers, and lowers 

accumulation and distribution costs tobetter support distributing fresh food and products to residents 

of Northeast and North Central Florida, and customers throughout the Southeastern US.

Iowa

Recipient: Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames, IA

District: IA-004

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $861,356

Match Amount: $227,080

Total Project Amount: $1,088,436

Strengthening & Expanding Iowa’s Food Hubs to Develop & Retain New Institutional Markets 

This project will preserve and significantly scale up the institutional markets that food hubs have 

developed in Iowa. This project will expand food hub capacity to capture more institutional sales, 

onboard new farmers, and grow sales territory to equitably serve more of the state. The work will also 

leverage upcoming, short-term institutional purchasing incentives to convert new institutions to 

permanent local food customers, thereby transforming the scale of farm-to-institution in Iowa. A
centralized food hub, FarmTable Procurement & Delivery, provides aggregation, storage and delivery 

services acrossIowa’s food hub network, and in turn to farmers and markets across Iowa, and the 

partnership shares a commitment to transitioning the FarmTable food hub to a non-profit and ensuring 

its long-term sustainability.

As a support partner with a strong state-wide farmer network, Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) will 

provide key outreach and education for farmers to learn about food hubs and become food hub 

vendors. PFI will also administer and evaluate this project. Iowa Valley RC&D will facilitate continued 

spaces for food hubs to collaborate with each other, while key experts at Kitchen Table Consultants will 

optimize food hub KPIs and provide business management coaching. Food Hub partners will maximize 

their added capacity made possible by this project, along with technical assistance, to add more farmer 

vendors, institutional customers, and territory to their individual businesses and expand the footprint of 

farm-to-institution in Iowa.

Recipient: Eat Greater Des Moines, Des Moines, IA

District: IA-003

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $946,665

Match Amount: $236,975.50

Total Project Amount: $1,183,640.50

Statewide Regional Value Chain Coordination for a Stronger Iowa Food System 

Eat Greater Des Moines, with the Iowa Food System Coalition, brings together the Regional Food System 

Working Group, existing Value Chain Coordinators (VCCs), the Iowa Farmers Union, Iowa State 

University Small Farm Program, and the Food Hub Managers Working Group in support of value chain 

coordinator expansion.

The project will create two new regional value chain coordinator positions, support three current value 

chain coordinators, and a central coordinator. Five regions across Iowa, including two critical geographic 

voids, will be supported to connect farmers, producers, purchasers, and resources. The central 

coordinator will help the VCCs improve processes, share examples of leveraged infrastructure 

developments, and collaborate on policy recommendations. Including VCC impact assessment with 

education and policy development is essential to support the sustainability of the relationship 

infrastructure.

VCCs enable producers and buyers to improve their competitive position leading to more profitability 

and viability. VCCs can engage retailers and institutional purchasers to lead them through the process of 

local purchasing and connect them with food hubs, thus reducing costs and navigating hurdles for them. 

Having consistent local buyers will reduce risk for farmers, create more demand for local food, and 

enable local producers and food businesses to scale up production with confidence and sustainability. 

This is especially true in rural regions. This project benefits both producers and buyers in the five regions 

identified. 

The project includes subrecipients such as University of Northern Iowa to perform project evaluation 

and VCC impact analysis, partial funding to existing VCCs at Iowa State University Extension and Healthy 

Harvest, the Iowa Farmers Union to engage in statewide advocacy for project outcomes, and StoryStruck 

Marketing to develop dissemination tools and a website for the project.
Kansas

Recipient: Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

District: KS-001

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $749,696

Match Amount: $187,500

Total Project Amount: $937,196

Implementing a Kansas Local Food Systems Collaborative: Building Resilient and Equitable Local 

Food Systems Together 

The purpose of the Kansas Local Food Systems Collaborative project is to convene local and regional 

food systems (LRFS) stakeholders to enhance local food systems. This collaborative program supports 

partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop LRFS focused on building 

and strengthening economic viability and resilience throughout the state. The objectives of this 

statewide effort include: 1) increasing local food system education and coordination capacity, 2) 

facilitating access to resources and local food systems workforce development, and 3) providing access 

to marketing expertise and educational materials on the benefits of local and regional food system work 

across the state. An over-arching priority is to increase equitable access to resources and technical 

expertise.

Recipient: Rice County Community Foundation, LLC, Lyons, KS

District: KS-001

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $106,416

Match Amount: $35,847

Total Project Amount: $142,263

Harvest Hub: Growing local food systems by connecting partners and resources. 

The Rice County Community Foundation will establish the Harvest Hub, a regional food council that 

develops the local food system by connecting partners and resources to address the needs of 

consumers, producers, processors, and distributors. Particularly, new, small-operation, and underserved

farmer populations will be poised to greatly benefit from the activities of the Harvest Hub. By 

developing a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, conducting stakeholder needs assessments, developing 

educational programming, and optimizing the use of local resources, the Harvest Hub will increase 

access to locally produced agricultural products, develop new local marketing opportunities for farmers 

and ranchers, increase the capacity and efficiency of the regional food system, and create a digital hub 

to coordinate the inputs and outputs involved in an effective food system. The result of the project will 

be a sustainable food system that continues to support the local stakeholders and look toward the 

growth of new opportunities and partnerships.

The need for a more coordinated and expansive food system became clear after the COVID-19 pandemic 

hit. For the past few months, a grassroots group of community leaders, farmers, producers, and 

consumers in Rice County, Kansas have gathered to discuss how to create a more localized food system. 

The Harvest Hub has the potential to unite community partners through a comprehensive program that 

brings people closer to their food and the producers who raise it. 
Kentucky

Recipient: Cowan Community Action Group, Whitesburg, KY

District: KY-005

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $100,000

Match Amount: $53,650

Total Project Amount: $153,650

Building a Regenerative Agriculture Coalition in Appalachia 

The long-term goal of the project is to extend proven regenerative agriculture practices into coalfield 

communities in eastern Kentucky as a means of resurrecting local food production and creating 

economic opportunity.

The partners will build the capability for regenerative agriculture knowledge and skill transfer between 

farmers and other regenerative agriculture practitioners, and in particular, 1) launch a coalition to 

educate and assist in regenerative agriculture in this region; 2) refine and widely share a regionally 

specific restorative agriculture site assessment; 3) identify sites for regenerative agriculture 

demonstration projects in 2023 and 2024.

The project will result in (1) a functional coalition promoting the application of regenerative agriculture 

practices in areas of Appalachia impacted by surface mining, (2) a site assessment checklist that can be 

used to assess a prospective site for regenerative agriculture, and (3) characterization of four 

prospective regenerative agriculture demonstration and training sites, with an inventory of their assets, 

capabilities, and gaps. The results of the project will be communicated among the coalition and other 

stakeholders.

Recipient: Kentucky Horticulture Council, Inc, Lexington, KY

District: KY-006

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $689,908

Match Amount: $225,224

Total Project Amount: $915,132

Grow Up! Expanding Kentucky's regional produce market opportunities 

Grow Up! Expanding Kentucky’s regional produce market opportunities is an integrated systems 

approach that will expand Kentucky’s regional food system impact by providing technical assistance 

focused on production, processing, distribution, and consumption of produce crops. The project will 

leverage a public-private partner network to increase production and market literacy while reducing 

known production and market barriers to support farms, businesses, and entrepreneurs that grow, 

store, process, market, and distribute produce locally and regionally. With focus and intentionality, the 

multi-disciplinary project team will collectively address the needs of at least 2,500 producers, 10 

distribution partners, 43 institutional buyers, and 75,000 consumers of food products, with resulting 

system benefits including increased opportunities across market channels, economic improvement, job 

creation, enhanced ecosystem services, and expanded access to healthy food.
Recipient: Community Farm Alliance, Berea, KY

District: KY-006

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $242,566

Match Amount: $62,992

Total Project Amount: $305,558

The Partnership for a Greater Louisville Food Council and Food Vision 2030 

This project will reevaluate the post-pandemic local food system landscape, create a Greater Louisville 

Food Council, and develop the Louisville Food System Vision 2030 to coalesce broad stakeholder buy-in 

around goals of decreased diet-related health disparities, increased food security, food system resiliency 

and climate change mitigation, and equity across the Louisville foodshed. Guided by a new Greater 

Louisville Food Council, Food Vision 2030 will be an 8-year Strategic Plan that identifies and employs 

substantial investment of public and private funds to achieve these goals.

Over 24 months, the Partnership for a Greater Louisville Food Council and Food Vision 2030 will tap the 

wisdom of directly affected communities to identify and deploy the many stakeholders and resources 

available in and around Louisville to bring greater food security for all Louisvillians, especially lowincome people living in areas with limited access to affordable, healthy food, while supporting farmers 

and building resilience, equity, and sustainability into the food and farm economy. 

The Food Vision 2030 will identify and enable substantial investment of public and private funds to 

achieve these goals, outcomes, and actions that a) promote a healthy, community-based, and 

economically viable food system, b) prioritize all Louisville residents’ ability to access an abundance of 

nutritious, safe, affordable, and culturally appropriate food c) acknowledge, mitigate and adapt to 

climate change and its impacts on farmers, consumers, historically underserved communities, and the 

greater food system, and d) improve marketing opportunities for producers in the regional food system.

Louisiana

Recipient: marketumbrella.org, New Orleans, LA

District: LA-001

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $970,087

Match Amount: $242,523

Total Project Amount: $1,212,610

Strengthening Community Access and Systems Support in the Greater New Orleans Regional Food 

System 

This 3-year implementation project will increase community access, systems support and

communications and data sharing, for a stronger, resilient, community-based food system in the greater 

New Orleans region. The project includes diverse public-private partners in various aspects of the local 

food system, including food processing, direct-to-consumer markets, local food promotion, 

environmental policy, producer support, food distribution, and higher education. It builds on the work of 

longstanding partnerships and addresses identified food systems gaps. Activities are technical 

assistance, value chain coordination, policy support, marketing and outreach, and monitoring and data 

collection and analysis. The team will create an emergency plan for post-disasters, and host monthly 

partner meetings and quarterly topic-based collaborative meetings for collaborators to increase 

cooperation and relationship building and plan marketing efforts. Intended beneficiaries are producers 
and the broader community, especially from lower-income and/or historically underserved populations, 

and/or women and Veterans. Partners will focus on key systems needs and implement solutions to 

address the persistent poverty and food access challenges in our region.

Maryland

Recipient: Montgomery County Food Council Inc, Bethesda, MD

District: MD-008

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $250,000

Match Amount: $163,680

Total Project Amount: $413,680

Maryland Community Food Council Collaborative 

In 2021, the State of Maryland’s Food System Resiliency Council (FSRC) was created through legislation 

by the Maryland General Assembly to address the food system challenges highlighted and exacerbated 

by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rates of food insecurity and demand for food assistance programs sharply 

rose, as thousands faced unemployment, business closures, and limited access to normal support 

services. In Maryland, food banks reported an 88% increase in food distribution since March of 2020 

compared to the prior 16 months. Farmers and food businesses in the state faced unanticipated drops in 

demand and distribution challenges. Food producers had few options to remain viable, as few systems 

were in place to connect their agricultural supply with increased demand for food consumption and 

assistance.

The FSRC used a statewide collaborative process to establish food system recommendations. Although 

limited staffing is available for FSRC operations, as a government body there are limitations on its ability 

to pursue the implementation of recommendations. There are also significant capacity limitations for 

the local food councils and other community-based organizations to collectively advocate for plan 

implementation. By formalizing a community of practice between Maryland’s existing and emerging 

local food councils, we will fund local conveners and leaders to collaborate, pursue shared priorities, 

ensure effective implementation of statewide initiatives at the community level, and connect the insight 

and expertise of local stakeholders to inform efforts statewide. Through this collective effort, we will 

also create the capacity to effectively apply federal resources at both the state and local levels.

Massachusetts

Recipient: Third Sector New England, Inc., Boston, MA

District: MA-007

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $968,375

Match Amount: $369,500

Total Project Amount: $1,337,875

Rooted in Community: A localized approach to growing the farm to institution movement in New 

England 

This project invests in strengthening regional, equitable farm to institution (FTI) relationships and value 

chains in three New England Communities, which in coordination will lead to greater regional and 

values-based food procurement across New England while shifting institutional power dynamics around 
race. Springfield, MA; New Haven, CT; and Cumberland County, ME will form a Cohort, represented by 

three community-based organizations—Springfield Food Policy Council, Cumberland County Food 

Security Council, City of New Haven Food System Policy Division—who are already driving food systems 

change at the local level. Each of the community organizations will receive subawards to carry out their 

local organizing, community engagement, and value chain coordination activities. The partnership will 

be supported by three state departments of agriculture, who will connect partners to additional 

collaborators and technical assistance. Farm to Institution New England, a regional network backbone 

organization, will provide project coordination, connect the cohort with regional partners, resources, 

and training, and share stories and strategies developed in each community with the broader network. 

We believe that strong, inter-woven and community-driven foundations of FTI work lead to sustainable 

regional impact for New England producers and residents who eat at institutions.

Recipient:Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts, Springfield, MA

District: MA-001

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $309,931

Match Amount: $106,980

Total Project Amount: $416,911

Increasing Fresh Produce in Food Insecure Communities While Determining Equitable Economic 

Models for Small-Scale Sustainable Farmers 

Hunger in Massachusetts is on the rise, with 16% of individuals and 21% of children not having enough 

to eat. Simultaneously, over 30% of food grown on farms is wasted and farming is unprofitable. Farmers 

are often unable to sell all their crops or cannot afford the cost of labor/processing to harvest or donate 

surplus crops. Farmland converted to urban development and methane emissions from crop waste are 

contributing to climate change. Meanwhile, many factors are creating instability and increasing rates of 

food insecurity in local economies. 

The goal of this project is to co-create pathways of greater reciprocity between farmers, consumers, and 

food insecure communities, resulting in increased equity and resilience in the local food system in the 

face of climate change and a changing economy. Led by Rachel’s Table (the food rescue and 

redistribution program of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts), the partnership, which 

includes Arbella Insurance Foundation, Smith College, FOCUS Springfield, Association of Gleaning 

Organizations, and Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter, operates as a 

collaboration that provides food recovery and redistribution, educational programs, technical 

assistance, digital storytelling, funding, networking, youth engagement, and community outreach.

This project will impact the region by supporting its climate resiliency and response plans by matching 

produce demand with supply, mitigating a portion of greenhouse gasses through reducing landfill food 

waste, and supporting regenerative farming practices that create healthy topsoil, sequester carbon, and 

keep land out of development. The project offers not only a significant increase in the amount of fresh 

food available to food-insecure people but supports their participation and agency in local food system 

development and decision-making. By nurturing network relationships, the partners will provide other 

gleaning organizations in the region with a way to learn alongside each other and to track evolving 

trends, strategies, challenges, and opportunities in food redistribution and expansion/opening of 

markets throughout the network region. As the climate changes, as war refugees continue to arrive, and 

as populations and demographics shift, an adaptive and responsive regional gleaning network will help 

tend to change needs and demands from the regional food system.
Recipient: Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Pittsfield, MA

District: MA-001

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $645,194

Match Amount: $245,099

Total Project Amount: $890,293

Strengthening the Berkshire County Regional Food System with Locally Sourced Mobile Famers 

Markets to Serve Low Access Populations 

The Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market Project will build on prior and ongoing collaborative efforts to 

expand local food production and delivery systems and bring the benefits of fresh and healthy locally 

grown food to underserved communities and individuals. The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission 

joins with sub-awardees Berkshire Bounty, Berkshire Grown, and the Southern Berkshires Rural Health 

Network and partners Berkshire United Way and Community Health Programs in this partnership. Each 

partner addresses a distinct aspect of food production, storage, purchase, and distribution. By joining 

skills and networks, we seek to create sustainable local food systems in the county.

By addressing community food security in which all community residents have access (economic, 

physical, social) to adequate food supplies, the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market will provide the 

following benefits to farmers (food producers): Higher direct-to-consumer sales and income, lower 

marketing and transaction costs, and stronger social connections.

Michigan

Recipient: Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities Inc, Traverse City, MI

District: MI-001

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $891,100

Match Amount: $247,360

Total Project Amount: $1,138,460

Resilient Relationships, Resilient Supply 

Resilient Relationships, Resilient Supply builds upon established partnerships to strengthen the food 

system in lower Michigan’s Western Lakeshore Region to increase sales and consumption of locally 

grown foods from small and mid-sized producers to schools, early childcare, and education (ECE) centers 

and emergency food providers The project increases community nutrition security by increasing access 

to healthy, local food for low-income children, families, and citizens. We will support over 34 

stakeholder partners in filling gaps they have identified in infrastructure and supply chains to help 

markets grow. We will leverage Michigan’s innovative state program, 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s 

Kids & Farms, currently funded at $4.5 million, increasing local food purchasing power for schools, ECE 

centers, and eligible organizations feeding children via USDA child nutrition programs. Partners will 

leverage proven regional farm to food pantry initiatives that have grown in response to COVID-19. Lead 

partners—Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, the principal of a food processing association, 

a supply chain logistics expert, and a local foods marketing enterprise with vast farmer connections—

will convene 5 Peer Learning Networks (PLNs) and provide farm to institution support and technical 

assistance to create stronger collaborations among 5 key stakeholder groups: producers, distributors, 

processors/aggregators, schools/Early Care and Education (ECE) centers, and emergency food providers 

(EFP). The PLNs will provide the chance to network, identify needs, find opportunities and solutions, and 
build relationships. PLN members will attend Learning Journeys to PLN member sites to share best 

practices. They will have scholarships available to 5 key Michigan-based food systems conferences to 

build knowledge and gain professional development. 

Through technical assistance and coordinated efforts, we aim to increase capacity, develop new market 

opportunities for producers to expand local and regional food business enterprises, and promote food 

safety practices to ensure a safe and productive local and regional food system. The 501,620 expected 

beneficiaries of this project include students in schools and ECE centers participating in 10 Cents a Meal, 

families and low-income individuals utilizing EFPs, small and mid-size farmers, processors, aggregators, 

distributors, and businesses along the value-added supply chain across the 16-county project region. We 

expect that our efforts in bringing together and engaging stakeholders of the food supply chain with 

lead to increased resilience and efficacy of work within the regional food system of Michigan’s Western 

Lakeshore region.

Nevada

Recipient: Board of Regents, NSHE, obo University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV

District: NV-002

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $256,592

Match Amount: $64,148

Total Project Amount: $320,740

Nevada Farm Apprenticeship Program 

The Nevada Farm Apprenticeship Program (Program) unites diverse public-private partners to address 

the lack of practical agricultural training opportunities that currently prevents would-be farmers from 

going into production in northwestern Nevada. The region is afflicted by poverty and food insecurity, 

and current fruit and vegetable processing is falling increasingly behind the demands of a rapidly 

growing population. Partners will combine diverse skills and expertise to develop and implement a 

Program that trains new farmers to successfully face the challenges of food production in a changing 

climate and fill gaps in the regional food system. The partners will collaborate to develop the 

apprenticeship program that includes on-farm grower-to-grower training, practical curriculum covering 

production and business aspects of farming, such as food hub operations, farm incubator and local food 

marketing opportunities. Special recruitment efforts and consideration will be given to those from or 

aspiring to serve Hispanic and Indigenous populations which are underserved in the region. The 

partnership that will guide and implement the program includes the Desert Farming Initiative at the 

University of Nevada (UNR), UNR Horticulture and Agronomy faculty Felipe Barrios-Masias, UNR 

Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program, Nevada Grown, Churchill Entrepreneur Development 

Association, and four leading produce farms (Lattin Farms, Holley Family Farms, Custom Gardens and 

Reno Food Systems’ Park Farm). Partners have a successful history of collaboration on food system 

development and are committed to creating and implementing a program that can be sustained in the 

long term.

New York

Recipient: Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Jefferson Co, Watertown, NY

District: NY-021

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion
Award Amount: $588,431

Match Amount: $239,101

Total Project Amount: $827,532

Fresh and Healthy Initiative: Food Policy Council of Jefferson County Partnership Project 

The Food Policy Council of Jefferson County partners will connect public and private resources to further 

develop our local food system with goals to maximize healthy food accessibility, economic opportunity, 

and growth of the agriculture/local food industry. Specifically, project partners will implement the Fresh 

and Healthy initiative through (1) implementing mobile delivery of food pantry packages; (2) advancing 

nutritious food accessibility in small communities through partner convenience stores; and (3) increasing 

use of SNAP and other food resource programs at farmers markets. The project will improve marketing 

opportunities for local farmers/food producers by serving as a conduit to directly connect them to the 

mobile food pantry and convenience stores where their products will be available to consumers in areas 

where options have traditionally been limited. The intended beneficiaries are the food policy council 

partner member organizations; under-resourced community members, particularly those in rural areas; 

and local food producers. 

Recipient: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

District: NY-023

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $248,193

Match Amount: $62,056

Total Project Amount: $310,249

The NY Food Hub Collaborative 

The NY Food Hub Collaboratives brings together 29 local food system stakeholders representing 21 

organizations to realize the long-term goal of improving the economic viability of mid-tier value chain 

partners targeting local markets by improving efficiencies, maximizing profits, and increasing demand 

for NY food products. Three objectives guide the project team toward that goal: (1) Establish a 

Collaborative of interdependent food hubs designed to work collaboratively to efficiently, affordability, 

and effectively market food products to institutional markets. (2) Identify the potential for small, midsize, and historically underserved producers to be competitive in state agency and institutional 

contracts. (3) Develop strategic business relationships between mid-tier value chain partners including 

food hubs, producers, processors, distributors, and markets that emphasize organizational 

interdependence, trust, and transparency and equitably distribute responsibilities and rewards. 

Objectives will be met through strategic planning amongst Collaborative partners, virtual field trips to 

learn best practices from national partners, business-to-business development opportunities, producer 

and market partner trainings, and a series of outputs. 

Recipient: Syracuse Grows, Inc., Syracuse, NY

District: NY-024

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $765,394.06

Match Amount: $322,600

Total Project Amount: $1,087,994.06
Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance: Strengthening Local Capacities & Community 

Connectivity Toward a Thriving Regional Food System 

The Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA) is a multi-sector food council that works to 

strengthen the food system so that it works for all people in our region. Our partnership aims to foster 

relationships, develop projects, and align resources to improve the health of our neighbors and our 

environment. The proposed implementation project will strengthen local capacities and community 

connectivity toward a thriving regional food system.

Our region is home to a diversity of both populations and landscapes, presenting a unique opportunity 

for a regional food systems partnership. The county is home to communities experiencing concentrated 

poverty within the urban center, a large refugee population situated mostly on the city’s Northside, 

Onondaga Nation whose territory is located just to the city’s south, both urban and rural agricultural 

producers, and numerous other food business enterprises. The proposed project will knit together the 

shared interests of this county’s unique composition to support a coordinated, equitable, and resilient 

regional food system. 

Our project aims to serve anyone who “eats, grows, or just loves” food in Onondaga County. The 

partnership covers the city of Syracuse (pop. 148,620), surrounding Onondaga County (pop. 476,516), 

and neighboring Onondaga Nation – a total geographic area of 780 square miles. We anticipate that our 

project will benefit all residents of our region as well as many outside the county’s geographic bounds 

given that several of our partners – including the food bank and regional farmers market – serve a much 

wider audience including the whole of the eight-county Central New York region. These include 

segments of the food system – including producers, distributors, and farm- and food service workers –

as well as whole communities – including Indigenous partners, individuals with lived experience of food 

insecurity and poverty, new Americans, youth, and Black and Latinx communities.

North Carolina

Recipient: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

District: NC-002

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $847,541

Match Amount: $371,190

Total Project Amount: $1,218,731

Food Councils Partnering to Develop Viable and Equitable Regional Food Value Chains 

This project aims to strengthen existing partnerships and opportunities to invest in local food 

infrastructure that creates long-term regional food economic resilience. Increasing federal and statelevel resources have provided significant opportunities for short-term local food markets and 

institutional engagement. However, more sustainable channels of financial and institutional support for 

food hubs and local food intermediaries are needed to build sustainable opportunities for farmers and 

communities. Local governments have a great opportunity to learn, engage, and innovate for systemslevel solutions that benefit the health and wealth of farmers and their communities. The growing 

network of food councils that exists across North Carolina can partner with their regional Council of 

Governments (COGs) to educate local governments, leverage existing funding streams, and advocate for 

long-term value chain and local food infrastructure investments. This proposal will build capacity and 

innovation in two multi-county foodsheds in North Carolina, while leaning on a statewide network of 

partners, by assessing existing and new opportunities to leverage economic drivers that cultivate 

regional food value chains. The project will create a grounding for more investment in food value chain 
development that centers on BIPOC farmers; existing food hubs; and the cultivation of regional efforts 

that elevate the rural assets necessary for vibrant regional food chains to thrive. Food councils will lead 

community outreach and advocacy efforts. COGs will provide capacity building, assistance with regional 

data collection and analysis, and a strong connection to local governments. The Food Hub Network will 

provide a food value chain needs analysis. CEFS provides program management and evaluation for this 

proposal, a statewide structure to the network of food councils, and coordinates Statewide and Regional 

Summits where cross-county analyses will be compared regionally and opportunities for action will be 

galvanized.

Ohio

Recipient: Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Parma, OH

District:OH-016

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $700,000

Match Amount: $210,265

Total Project Amount: $910,265

Feed Our Future: Planning, Partnerships and Projects to Increase Local Food Spending 

This project leverages local and regional partnerships to advance the collaborations necessary to build a 

regionally innovative and responsive farm to school (F2S) initiative that serves school-aged children 

across Northern Ohio. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) serves as the backbone 

organization for Feed Our Future (FOF): Local Foods for Growing Minds, convening individuals and 

stakeholders throughout Ohio to advance the policy, environmental, and systems changes needed to 

drive systemic change and build a more resilient food system. The project goals are to strengthen the 

mid-tier value chain and increase local and regional food procurement by K-12 school districts. The key 

objectives of this partnership are to 1) strengthen the mid-tier value chain to effectively serve K-12 

school systems by increasing the number of producers in the supply chain; 2) increase local food 

purchasing by K-12 school systems through the execution of a farm to school bid; 3) increase the 

knowledge and skills of school meal program staff to menu, serve, and teach about local foods through 

the creation of two new curriculums; and 4) expand organizational capacity to support regional local 

food system efforts, planning, partnership, and advocacy by hiring an equity consultant, facilitating 

ongoing meetings of the Feed Our Future Leadership Council, and engaging in new and enhancing 

existing partnerships to generate a regional farm to school strategic plan. 

Pennsylvania

Recipient: Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, Johnstown, PA

District: PA-013

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $564,046.62

Match Amount: $156,512.56

Total Project Amount: $720,559.18

Building Regional Resilience: The Greater Pittsburgh Food Systems Partnership 

The project takes a holistic approach to strength the Southwestern Pennsylvania food system, with a 

focus on building connections between purchasers, growers, and funders. Building off the success of our 
region’s first comprehensive food system plan, the Greater Pittsburgh Food Action Plan (‘the Plan’), the 

Partnership will connect and cultivate regional food economies through public-private partnerships, 

support the development of strategies for regional food system infrastructure, and strengthen capacity 

through community collaboration. 

The Pittsburgh Food Policy Council (PFPC) will utilize our 13 years of experience as a convener of food 

systems partners to bring about transformative change through a collective impact model. As a 

backbone organization, the PFPC will convene growers, institutional purchasers, funders, and 

community leaders to identify and address regional food system’s needs. Through deeper coordination 

among and between these stakeholders, the Partnership will support the development of diversified 

regional markets, increase investment in the community and institutional food system’s needs, and 

build a more resilient and equitable food system in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

South Dakota

Recipient: Dakota Rural Action, Brookings, SD

District: SD – At-large

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $250,000

Match Amount: $114,673

Total Project Amount: $364,673

Strengthening the Capacity of South Dakota Local Food Coalition by creating a social systems 

map of local food stakeholders and formalizing the Coalition's organizational structure. 

South Dakota Local Food Coalition (SDLFC) is growing with membership reaching over 50 people and 20 

organizations. South Dakota State University (SDSU) as sub-awardee will build a social system map, 

which is an interactive online support tool that allows people to visualize the network and identify 

people with shared interests or resources they need. To ensure that the SDLFC continues to grow and 

equitably serve the diverse needs of South Dakotans, Dakota Rural Action will organize SDLFC 

stakeholders and improve the capacity of the Coalition by contracting with a Food Systems Planner to 

facilitate solidifying the Coalition’s organizational structure and developing our first multiyear strategic 

plan. As the SDLFC expands and includes more diverse perspectives, together we will also conduct 

research to characterize challenges and opportunities to prioritize action items for the SDLFC. The 

strengthening of the Coalition’s institutional capacity will allow it to continue to become more inclusive 

and amplify the priorities and needs of local producers so that local food economies and rural food 

based agrarian communities can thrive in South Dakota.

Tennessee

Recipient: Appalachian Resource Conservation & Development Council, Johnson City, TN

District: TN-001

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $505,758

Match Amount: $270,546

Total Project Amount: $776,304
Northeast Tennessee Food Vision 

Northeast Tennessee Food Vision (NTFV) is a movement led by a partnership of local food system 

stakeholders whose goals are to increase investment in, improve access to, and increase consumption of 

locally grown or produced food in the eight-county region of Northeast TN. Northeast TN has a strong 

agricultural foundation and high demand for local products, but the region lacks producer training and 

technical support, and a cohesive brand for locally grown and produced foods. Local farmers 

consistently report a need for marketing and technical support and training to achieve certifications 

required to sell goods to larger markets. NTFV will establish a Food Policy Council (FPC) to advocate for 

county and state-level policies that support a healthy food system, and for community investment in 

food system infrastructure improvements. NTFV will also establish a Regional Farmer Cooperative (RFC) 

which will connect producers to wholesalers, distributors, grocery, and restaurant buyers, and will 

launch a regional local food branding and marketing campaign titled Northeast Tennessee Grown to 

support producers and increase demand for locally grown food. NTFV will provide marketing, technical 

assistance, and training to regional producers and markets. The project will also launch a virtual local 

food hub where farmers can network with grocery, restaurant, institutional, and wholesale buyers, and 

can access the resources established by the RFC. The counties included in the project are Carter, Greene, 

Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington. The partnership is led by the Appalachian 

Resource Conservation and Development Council and includes: First TN Development District, 

Appalachian Producers Cooperative, First Bank & Trust, and Jonesborough Locally Grown.

Texas

Recipient: Texas Center for Local Food, Elgin, TX

District: TX-010

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $112,640

Match Amount: $37,230

Total Project Amount: $149,870

Bastrop County Local Food Action Partnership 

The Bastrop County Local Food Action Partnership will connect, cultivate, and support the regional food 

economy in the region of Bastrop County, Texas through meaningful public-private partnerships and a 

healthy collaborative process. Connections between private companies including farms and ranches, 

public entities, and nonprofit organizations, will facilitate collaborative work to strengthen the capacity 

and resilience of the local food system in Bastrop County Texas. The goal of this Partnership is to create 

a unified approach to local food system economic development and equitable healthy food access in 

Bastrop County and across the local region. Specific issues the Partnership will address include (i) a lack 

of active and durable connections between the public, nonprofit, and private sectors in support of local 

and regional food system development, which has led to (ii) underdeveloped capacity to build robust 

local food economic value chains.

Utah

Recipient: Association of Gleaning Organizations, Salt Lake City, UT

District: UT-002

Project Type: Planning & Design
Award Amount: $112,346

Match Amount: $44,494

Total Project Amount: $156,840

Regional Gleaning Network in Washington State 

Gleaning, an ancient practice of farmers leaving crops in their fields for the poor to harvest has morphed 

over the years into coordinated groups who extract and distribute this produce on a relatively large 

scale. Gleaning organizations across North America communicatively harvested 55,528,183 pounds of 

produce in 2020. This practice reduces food waste left in the fields and increases the accessibility to 

fresh produce for low to no-income families. 

In 2020 The Association of Gleaning Organizations (AGO) conducted research as part of the first-ever 

Gleaning Census. This research found that one of the main correlations with highly effective 

organizations was their participation in a regional network. At the beginning of this year, we gauged 

interest in a few regions and decided those in Washington state had the most drive and capacity to 

begin a network in their area. Through this grant, we aim to continue our meetings and develop a 

regional network comprised of gleaning organizations in Washington state. 

Our long-term goals are to reduce food waste and hunger in the state through our increased capacity to 

glean more produce. To reach this goal we will conduct a network assessment, build an implementation 

plan, and publish a paper documenting the results of our experience. By working collaboratively, we 

believe we can identify common problems and collaborative solutions that will increase our capacity and 

efficiency, ultimately providing Washington state with more quality produce for those in need.

Vermont

Recipient: Vital Communities, Inc., White River Junction, VT

District: VT – At-large

Project Type: Planning & Design

Award Amount: $198,351

Match Amount: $60,536

Total Project Amount: $258,887

Food System Resilience from the Ground Up 

“Food System Resilience from the Ground Up” is a two-year planning effort to strengthen food security, 

farm viability, farmland integrity, distribution systems, and climate stability in the Upper Valley by 

coordinating between existing sub-regional agricultural and food system support groups using a 

Collective Impact network (“Upper Valley Resilience Network”). Our grant partners (the founding 

members of the UVRN) consist of both “Local Hubs” (the subregional, grassroots, often farmer-led food 

resilience groups with local expertise) and Technical Assistance providers (support organizations with a 

wide range of food system expertise.) By the end of the grant period, 7 to 10 local hubs will have a 

strategic plan of action appropriate for their unique circumstances but complementary between subregions and will have built the relationships and gained technical skills necessary for the successful 

implementation of these plans. In aggregate, these local initiatives will create a significant impact on the 

Upper Valley while reducing duplication of efforts.
Virginia

Recipient: Health Care Without Harm, Reston, VA(Project is in Oregon)

District: VA-011

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $999,524

Match Amount: $412,620

Total Project Amount: $1,412,144

Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative (OFIC) 

For more than a decade, the Farm to Institution (F2I) movement in Oregon has made significant strides 

in engaging and coordinating efforts of institutional purchasers, government agencies, nonprofit 

organizations, and supply chain producers and processors. While successes have helped create lasting 

change in many institutions, the impact of these resources and partnerships has largely been focused on 

the Portland Metro Region. While almost 100,000 meals per day are served in institutions in the 

Portland area, there are more than twice as many meals served in institutions throughout the State. 

The purpose of this project is to leverage existing proofs of concept in farm to institution (F2I) and take 

them to scale at a state level. F2I will be catalyzed in different regions and rural areas of Oregon by 

establishing the Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative (OFIC). 

This project will benefit Oregon producers and processors through improved value chain coordination 

and connections to new institutional markets, thus providing institutions with more options and 

streamlined processes to purchase locally and meet values-based purchasing goals. Additionally, the 

project will benefit communities served by institutions throughout Oregon, like students, patients, and 

state employees, who will have improved access to healthy, locally grown, and produced food.

Recipient: 4P Foods, Inc. PBC, Elkwood, VA

District: VA-007

Project Type: Implementation & Expansion

Award Amount: $992,152

Match Amount: $614,500

Total Project Amount: $1,606,652

Building a Regional Food Ecosystem for the Mid-Atlantic 

Led by 4P Foods, a $10M food hub and distributor, the Building a Regional Food Ecosystem for the MidAtlantic (RFEMA) project will demonstrate a replicable and scalable model for implementing a regional 

transportation network to connect local producers with institutional and consumer markets. The RFEMA 

project is designed to address the challenges of scale that prevent individual food ecosystem players -

producers, food hubs, aggregators, and processors -from ramping up the supply of local and regional 

food to meet rapidly growing demand. To build out a competitive and efficient regional food ecosystem, 

the RFEMA project will: (1) leverage existing regional partnerships to connect local producers with 

institutional buyers; (2) implement system-wide inventory and management solutions that support full 

product traceability; (3) build the regional transportation and logistics infrastructure necessary to scale 

the throughput of local/regional production from farm to customer; and (4) replicate and expand the 

model to the Eastern Shore. Strategic investments will bring economies of scale to the regional food 

ecosystem while connecting local farmers to otherwise inaccessible wholesale and institutional markets.