Transportation and Marketing

Local Food Promotion Program

Fiscal Year 2023

Description of Funded Projects

Number of Grants Awarded: 33

Amount of Funds Awarded: $14,180,180.00

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

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

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

here are those of the grant applicants and cannot be attributed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Arizona 

Recipient: Pivot Produce, Tucson, AZ.

District: AZ-007

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $739,500.00

Match Amount: $185,678.00

Total Project Amount: $925,178.00

Arizona Planned Production and Logistics Expansion (APPLE), will increase access to locally 

grown produce and reduce on-farm food waste by expanding and creating institutional 

markets.

Pivot Produce’s proposed project, Arizona Planned Production and Logistics Expansion, or APPLE, will 

utilize the successful southern Arizona Farm to Institution model to increase local foods sales to 

Maricopa County-based institutions. Their proven Farm to Institution model uses a value chain approach 

to coordinate farmers’ planning with institutional purchasing demand. APPLE will provide in-person 

training on food safety and value-added products for 15 small farmers, and APPLE will also provide 

transportation of produce from farms to markets. In addition, the project will expand and create 

connections to institutional markets, including hospitals, schools, and food banks. The project will also

implement purchasing commitments; reduce on-farm food waste by 20%; expand and create 10 

institutional markets, increasing access to locally grown produce; and increase sales for small farmers in 

6 counties in southern and central Arizona.
California 

Recipient: Rumiano Cheese Company, Willows, CA. 

District: CA-001

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $750,000.00

Match Amount: $187,500.00

Total Project Amount: $937,500.00

North Coast Pasture to Plate: Building Capacity in the Northern California Food System To 

Boost Sales of Value-Added Organic Dairy Products to School Districts

Rumiano Cheese Company, an agricultural business that aggregates, processes, and markets valueadded organic dairy products made from milk produced by 27 Northern California dairy producers, seeks 

to boost Farm to Institution sales of locally-produced organic dairy products through activities that will 

expand the local food system’s capacity to produce, process, and distribute value-added organic dairy 

products into Northern California schools. Activities will also include creating and delivering engaging 

educational content for school foodservice staff and students to support long-term increased 

consumption. Intended beneficiaries include 49,460 school-aged children and 27 Northern California 

dairy producers. This project’s primary expected outcome is increased farm to institution sales of locallyproduced organic value-added dairy products.

Recipient: Public Health Institute, San Diego, CA. 

District: CA-012

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $742,141.87

Match Amount: $187,500

Total Project Amount: $929,641.87

Farmer’s Food as Medicine

The Public Health Alliance of Southern California (Alliance) will cultivate partnerships and help establish

contracts between farms and institutions to support local farmers. The Alliance is a coalition of 11 local

health jurisdictions with deep expertise in health, food systems, equitable contracting processes, and

transforming data into action. The Alliance is expertly positioned to transform the connections between

farmers and healthcare institutions, such as the opportunities provided by Medi-Cal’s CalAIM Medically

Supportive Food & Nutrition initiatives. The food as medicine movement also presents a promising

opportunity for promoting health equity by addressing food and nutrition insecurities, which are root

causes of chronic diseases that contribute to 50% of deaths in San Diego County. Through this project, 

the Alliance will connect and cultivate an initial cohort of 100 CalAIM participants who will receive 

medically supportive food sourced through Foodshed, a farmer-owned aggregation and distribution

cooperative in San Diego. Foodshed works at the intersection of farm viability and climate-smart

practices to promote local food equity and supports 60 small farms—68% of whom are socially

disadvantaged and BIPOC producers—and distributes 80% of their produce to historically underserved

communities. This project will shift Foodshed from a grand funding to a financial viability model.
Recipient: 18 Reasons, San Francisco, CA. 

District: CA-012

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $175,720.00

Match Amount: $67,760.00

Total Project Amount: $243,480.00

18 Reasons Teaching Kitchen and Food Hub

18 Reasons is a nonprofit organization with a 15-year history of developing and delivering programming 

that increases food security, culinary skills, and nutrition knowledge, while distributing and using in our 

education programs over 100,000 pounds of locally-grown produce each year. The purpose of this 

project is to develop a business plan, feasibility study, budget, and program plan for a new teaching 

kitchen and food hub that will provide job training, employment, food access and food education 

programming to a wide variety of San Francisco Bay Area residents, including low-income families. To 

develop the project, 18 Reasons will work with a local chef and consultant who specializes in developing 

food hubs and markets. The consultant will work closely with 18 Reasons staff members to conduct 

research and develop a feasibility study and business plan. 18 Reasons will also develop a long-term 

budget for the project’s implementation. The new teaching kitchen and food hub planning work will 

focus on will double the reach of 18 Reasons’ programs, and supports the USDA’s goal to engage as 

intermediaries in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing to increase access to and availability of 

locally and regionally produced agricultural products by sourcing produce directly from local farmers for 

use in food education and food access programs.

Recipient: San Mateo Resource Conservation District, Half Moon Bay, CA.

District: CA-016

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $112,259.00

Match Amount: $28,092.00

Total Project Amount: $140,351.00

Collaborative, Community- Driven Planning Process to Expand Markets and Improve 

Aggregation & Distribution

In San Mateo County local producers, most of whom run small operations, face a host of challenges:

transportation and distribution barriers due to coastal locations, ineffectively tapping into local markets,

and lack of nearby processing facilities. Through recent collaborative efforts, local producers identified

the need for a food hub to revitalize the San Mateo County farming and ranching industries. This

planning project will continue the community-designed development of a food hub to improve the

viability of local farming operations by expanding markets and improving aggregation and distribution

opportunities.

Objectives include assess the needs of local small farms and ranches; and design a business plan for a

food hub that will provide services and opportunities to improve the viability of local farms and ranches.

The main project outcome will be a published business plan that has been driven and informed by the

community at each stage of development.
Colorado 

Recipient: First Nations Development Institute, Longmont, CO. 

District: CO-004

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $592,007.00

Match Amount: $148,002.00

Total Project Amount: $740,009.00

Native Food Producers Serving Indian Country

First Nations Development Institute, a national, nonprofit Native American organization, will support 13 

grassroots native food sovereignty collaborators to increase native food security in their Tribal 

communities and expand local and regional access to traditional foods. Two virtual convenings and an 

in-person convening will build a peer support network among participants, while financial support and 

capacity building consultant expertise will help them to develop and expand marketing networks, as well 

as improving food safety, handling and transportation. The 13 producer collaborators are located in 

rural, low income Native communities in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, 

South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin, with operations that include meat, eggs, honey, maple products, 

wild rice, juneberries, and produce. Ultimately, community and regional accessibility to traditional 

native foods will increase, revitalizing cultural foodways, overcoming inequity, and improving the health 

and well-being of native people and communities. 

Connecticut 

Recipient: CitySeed, Inc., New Haven, CT. 

District: CT-003

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $732,634.00

Match Amount: $244,739.00

Total Project Amount: $977,373.00

CitySeed Shared-Use Commercial Kitchen and Food Business Incubator

CitySeed, Inc. is a nonprofit based in New Haven that seeks to “engage the community in growing an 

equitable, local food system that promotes community development, economic development, and 

sustainable agriculture.” CitySeed proposes to enhance the capacity of CitySeed Incubates, a 

comprehensive package of programming and shared-use kitchen access in downtown New Haven, 

Connecticut. As New Haven’s first shared-use commercial kitchen incubator, the program will attract 

BIPOC, women, and immigrants from within a 45-minute drive. As a result of this project, CitySeed will 

scale the internal capacity of its staff and systems to serve the business, marketing, and sourcing needs 

of farms and ventures in its growing network. Other services and program offerings include 

entrepreneurial training, mid-tier value chain development, and supply chain coordination.
Georgia 

Recipient: Global Growers Network, Inc., Decatur, GA.

District: GA-005

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $749,250.00

Match Amount: $204,119.00

Total Project Amount: $953,369.00

Global Growers Local Markets

The Global Growers Local Markets Project will expand its sales program to connect farmers and buyers 

through a variety of distribution channels. Key activities include: developing marketing plans, hosting 

agritourism events, creating on-farm market access points, facilitating aggregation and distribution, 

making improvements to aggregation and distribution infrastructure, introducing farmers to a variety of 

record-keeping technologies, connecting farmers with food safety and market readiness resources, and 

achieving Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification. Deliverables and expected outcomes include: a 

refreshed marketing plan based on LFPP Planning Grant recommendations, improved aggregation and 

storage systems at two locations, reductions in on-farm food waste, improved use of technology, 

improved food safety practices, facilitation of sales between farmers and local/regional buyers at a 

variety of scales and market access points, strengthened markets for local produce, and increased 

viability of small-scale farms. The primary beneficiaries are beginning, small-scale, and historically 

underserved farmers (refugees, immigrants, and farmers of color). The project also benefits local buyers 

and distributors, who will be connected with farmers prepared to access larger markets. Ultimately, 

local communities will have increased access to healthy and culturally diverse foods produced within 

their region. As a result of this project, farmers will increase knowledge of local value chains and market 

access points, increase connections with buyers, improve record-keeping, improve market readiness, 

and improve operational efficiencies through aggregation and distribution. 

Hawaii 

Recipient: Malama Kauai, Kilauea, HI.

District: HI-002

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $749,809.00

Match Amount: $251,500.00

Total Project Amount: $1,001,309.00

Launching the Moloa’a ‘ĀINA Center: Agricultural Innovation N Acceleration for Kaua’i

Community-based nonprofit Mālama Kauaʻi (MK) has over 16 years of experience in supporting the local 

food system on Kauaʻi through a variety of farmer support and technical assistance programs, farm to 

school work, food access programming, and workforce development efforts. Through this project, MK 

will launch their new Moloaʻa ʻĀINA Center food hub. The project will help to staff the facility's launch, 

food safety compliance, program expansions, and farm value-product development services. The project 

will fund key staff positions critical to expanding programs and services to utilize the new facility fully. It 
is expected to increase average year over year producer sales notably for local farmers and food 

producers - 60% of which are expected to be BIPOC small businesses owned. A minimum of 25 Moloaʻa 

Irrigation Cooperative Members, who are small farmers from the local area, will utilize the facility for 

value-added product production, storage, and business assistance. Outcomes of this work will bolster 

Kauaʻi’s local agriculture industry, allow MK to meet the scale needed by large buyers, and fill gaps in 

the current food system. These activities will assist local farmers, ranchers, and value-added producers, 

in growing their businesses to meet the needs of the local food system, and subsequently build food 

self-sufficiency and economic resiliency for the isolated and vulnerable island of Kauaʻi.

Kansas 

Recipient: Norton Regional Health Foundation, Norton, KS. 

District: KS-001

Project Type: Planning 

Award Amount: $99,110.00

Match Amount: $33,500.00

Total Project Amount: $132,610.00

Corrections connection: An operating model for resident-grown produce sales from a state 

correctional facility to local institutions in rural Kansas

The Norton Regional Health Foundation (NRHF) will use this project to design a farm-to-institution 

program to increase rural access to local, healthy food in correctional facilities. A recently completed 

regional Food System Assessment highlighted the demand for more local food purchasing from the 

regional hospital and school district. To meet this demand, NRHF needed to identify a production 

partner able to produce needed items at scale. However, with a lack of specialty crop producers in 

Northwest Kansas, the Norton Correctional Facility was identified as a possible solution. The Facility

currently operates a small fruit and vegetable farm and has the capacity and interest in growing for local 

institutions. This planning grant will be used to test the feasibility of developing a local institutional 

supply chain using produce grown at the correctional facility farm that supports workforce development 

in agriculture for residents of the facility.

Recipient: Junction City Main Street, Junction City, KS. 

District: KS-002

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $74,913.75

Match Amount: $21,434.25

Total Project Amount: $96,348.00

Igniting our local food system: Planning a shared-use kitchen for Junction City, KS

Junction City Main Street (JCMS) and the Live Well Geary County Food Policy Council (FPC) have 

partnered to conduct a planning grant for a shared-use kitchen in Junction City, KS. The purpose of this 

project is to increase market opportunities for value-added food businesses, and for the local farmers 

they source from. 80+ small food businesses and 15+ local farmers stand to benefit from the creation of 
this critical missing food system infrastructure. Project funds will be utilized to convene a project 

advisory board, conduct a feasibility analysis for the shared-use kitchen, and create operating and 

management plans for the facility. JCMS will conduct market analysis and assess the feasibility of the 

shared-use kitchen, identify an operating model for a kitchen (including financial analysis, site selection, 

and facility design), refine these findings with the community, and provide a final recommendation with 

a management plan and funding sources for the shared-use kitchen. This planning will set the stage for 

the successful launch and implementation of this facility and its potential food-related programming 

including the shared-use kitchen, classroom spaces, an incubator program for aspiring food 

entrepreneurs, and onsite community meals programs.

Maine 

Recipient: Maine Dayboat Scallops, Inc. (aka Downeast Dayboat), Bath, ME.

District: ME-001

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $356,570.00

Match Amount: $87,992.00

Total Project Amount: $444,562.00

Dayboat Blue: Increasing producer prices, consumer access and education while decreasing 

environmental costs through the shortened supply chain of CSF-style pick up events.

Dayboat Blue, a local seafood business, will increase consumption of Maine seafood with a new 

distribution method combining the ease of online ordering with the lower environmental costs, 

increased connections and better prices of CSA-style local pickups. Modeled after the British Columbiabased Skipper Otto program, Dayboat Blue will align with retail partners in 3 northeastern locations to 

promote and optimize seafood pick up events. Customers will order Maine seafood online and collect it 

at a local retail partner. Storage information, recipes and videos will be available via QR codes to reduce 

packaging materials. Initial pickups will serve as a model for expansion to other communities. Objectives 

include increasing the consumption of local seafood in the three identified metro areas by providing 

easy, convenient access to high quality Maine seafood, as well as helping help consumers become more 

comfortable preparing seafood in their homes by providing them with recipes and offering interactive 

events. 

Massachusetts 

Recipient: Growing Places Garden Project, Inc., Leominister, MA.

District: MA-002

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $699,709.93

Match Amount: $181,261.50

Total Project Amount: $880,971.43
Local Food Works in North Central MA - builds on five years of planning and assessment to 

create an equitable, sustainable, and accessible North Central MA food value chain.

This project is founded on a North Central Massachusetts (NCMA) food system feasibility study, Regional 

Food Center (a local food hub) operating model and business plan, and strategic plan that were 

developed with input from 130 diverse community partners that comprise the Local Food Works-NCMA 

Coalition. Serving as the hub of the Regional Food Center, the processing center managed by Growing 

Places Garden Project, Inc., will allow for season extension, increased storage capacity, reduced food 

waste, increased product variety, and expansion of locally produced agricultural products to new market 

channels. Project activities seek to 1) build a robust mid-tier value chain through a new regional food 

processing center, 2) support local farmers and small food businesses to expand to new market 

channels, and 3) develop a coordinated and accessible marketing and promotion system with supportive 

purchasing technology. The project will bolster the NCMA food system to strengthen the local food 

economy, increase equitable healthy food access for households that suffer from disproportionate rates 

of nutrition related chronic diseases, and provide opportunities for NCMA farmers and small food 

businesses.

Maryland 

Recipient: Stepwell Strategies, LLC., Baltimore, MD. 

District: MD-007

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $187,209.00

Match Amount: $115,000.00

Total Project Amount: $302,209.00

Determining suitability of locally-adapted, biodiverse corn genetics for producing tortillas and 

other traditional, masa-based foods

This project supports development of mid-tier supply chains by exploring flavor in locally adapted, 

biodiverse corn — specifically, working with local food entrepreneurs to learn how to identify and 

specify varieties that excel when used to make tortillas or other masa-based foods. Objectives are to

(1) inform what constitutes high-quality material for nixtamalization by connecting stakeholder experts;

(2) create and share a stakeholder-informed process for evaluating suitability for masa production using 

samples representative of biodiverse, adapted varieties; and (3) share resulting knowledge with 

stakeholders interested in locally produced maize and masa. By connecting chefs and stakeholders 

through two virtual forums and two in- person workshops, this project will provide information on what 

domestically grown varieties of maize will work well in the kitchen and the field, and thereby increase 

use of local corn for masa and tortillas. The project will benefit chef and farmer stakeholders and 

facilitate mid-tier value chain development by allowing exchange of ideas, process and techniques 

among food entrepreneurs from diverse regions focused on masa production. A planned convening will 

further develop connections among the network of stakeholders interested in locally produced corn and 

masa. 
Missouri 

Recipient: Springfield Community Gardens, Springfield, MO. 

District: MO-007

Project Type: Farm to Institution 

Award Amount: $748,942.38

Match Amount: $187,483.86

Total Project Amount: $936,426.24

Springfield Community Gardens: Expanding Local Food Distribution in the Ozarks with 

Farmers, City Practitioners and Institutional Leaders to Create a More Resilient Food System

Springfield Community Gardens (SCG) is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen neighborhoods 

where people can grow healthy relationships, food, and community. The purpose of the project is to 

develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises to help increase access to 

and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. This project addresses the needs 

of small scale, under-resourced and socially disadvantaged farmers in the region by providing direct lines 

and networks to commercial and institutional sale opportunities. By providing refrigerated 

transportation, the project will support the processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local 

and regional food products, assisting farms in meeting institutional buying standards and providing 

indirect producer to consumer marketing. The project will impact an anticipated new and existing 25 

SCG network participating farmers/producers, 18 institutional/network buyers, 300 additional 

local/regional farmers who will have access to institutional food safety workshops, and 130,000 

consumers reached within the community at large through an advertising campaign designed to 

promote local food.

North Carolina 

Recipient: Freshlist, LLC., Charlotte, NC.

District: NC-012

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $749,669.00

Match Amount: $187,666.00

Total Project Amount: $937,335.00

Connecting Farmers and Communities through Increased Access to Fresh Food and 

MarketOpportunities

Freshlist's Food Hub has been supporting local and regional farms since its inception in 2017 through 

aggregation, distribution, storage, and marketing. Recently, the unprecedented demand for local food 

through restaurants and food box programs as outpaced Freshlist’s distribution capacity. This project 

will enable Freshlist to expand the market for local and regional foods in Charlotte, North Carolina, 

which is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States. Freshlist will lease a 

refrigerated vehicle and additional warehouse space to increase aggregation, storage, and distribution 

capacity, hire staff dedicated to growing, managing, and executing Freshlist's direct-to-consumer home 
delivery business, collaborate with a regional food hub partner to expand the availability and selection 

of local foods, develop effective marketing strategies to promote local foods, and enhance existing 

technology systems.

Recipient: Good Stuff, Winston Salem, NC. 

District: NC-005

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $237,838.70

Match Amount: $59,735.00

Total Project Amount: $297,573.70

Lowering Barriers for Increased Local Food Processing

Good Stuff will lower barriers for local producers becoming marketplace-ready with their local valueadded agricultural products by training them on capacity-building specialty kitchen equipment and by 

providing resources and networking to build mutually beneficial connections with local producers. Good 

Stuff will hire a dedicated Market Access Coordinator, expand the incubator kitchen capacity for valueadded production, develop a resource guide and outreach plan (market events, social media, 

networking events) to increase access to information and market access points, and limit food waste 

through efficient processing. Project outcomes are expected to include marketplace-ready producers 

with locally sourced value-added agricultural products for sale, increased wholesale opportunities for 

producers and farmers, and increased capacity for processing local produce for value-added production. 

Recipient: Ann Rose, Lansing, NC.

District: NC-005

Project Type: TurnKey Marketing and Promotion

Award Amount: $98,473.00

Match Amount: $26,208.00

Total Project Amount: $124,681.00

Expanding Market Access For Appalachian Farms by Aggregating Products through “The 

Breakfast Lady” CSA and at the Lansing Park Farmers Market

This project will preserve historic Appalachian food pathways while growing demand for local food 

through multiple market channels and increasing food security along the value chain. Rose Mountain 

Farm will work alongside a Communications and Marketing Specialist to promote and scale-up Rose 

Mountain’s multi-farm CSA, "the Breakfast Lady's" produce and meat products, and local food offerings 

at the Lansing Park Farmers Market. This project works with more than 10 small farmers - all located in 

North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains and concentrated in Ashe County, an area designated as low 

income and low access - to aggregate more products and retail sales for the participating farmers’ 

diversified enterprises. This project seeks to alleviate food insecurity and lack of access to food, which 

are challenges in Ashe County.
North Dakota 

Recipient: North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperative Foundation, Mandan, ND.

District: ND-001

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $173,117.80

Match Amount: $43,280.00

Total Project Amount: $216,397.80

Regional Mid-tier Value Chain Development for Frontier Producers

The North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperative Foundation (NDRECF), working with community partners, is 

addressing reductions in food distribution facility closures and reduced supplier territories by anchoring 

local producers and processors in regional food hubs, and connecting those hubs in the near term to 

institutional buyers such as school districts. For a decade, NDRECF has engaged producers, 

intermediaries, buyers, government entities, and economic development agencies to develop solutions 

and test innovative approaches to improving food access across the state. In 2022, NDRECF convened 

stakeholders in meetings to consider developing a statewide network of food warehouses serving both 

first mile (aggregation, value added processing) and last mile (distribution, farm-to-school, and pantry 

support) needs. The strategy that emerged includes establishing a pilot facility in Minot as the first step 

toward a network of food hubs across North Dakota.The overarching objectives of developing the 

Regional Mid-tier Value Chain Development for Frontier Producers project are to 1) establish food 

supply chain infrastructure that directly links local and statewide producers and processors to 

institutional buyers in north central and northwest North Dakota; and 2) establish a model for organizing 

stakeholders and developing a facility that can be replicated throughout rural North Dakota.

The project has significant community support, including collaborations with Strengthen ND, Community 

Crossroads Advisors, Great Plains Food Bank, Foundation for Agricultural and Rural Resources 

Management and Sustainability (FARRMS), and the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (MHA).

Project deliverables include quantifying demand, matching demand to local producers and processors,

establishing the facility operating entity, creating the initial design and layout, and selecting a site for 

construction or renovation.

New Mexico 

Recipient: MoGro Mobile Grocery, Albuquerque, NM. 

District: NM-001

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $676,795.20

Match Amount: $171,928.67

Total Project Amount: $848,723.87

Advancing Agricultural Markets for Provider Prescribed Produce (AAMPPP)

The project purpose is to strengthen market ties between local producers in New Mexico and large 

health care institutions. Key short-term outcomes include doubling local purchasing and increasing 
market stability for producers. In the long term, project successes are expected to include identifying 

local food investments as meaningful preventative healthcare strategies and cost-saving measures for 

institutions and insurance providers. AAMPPP is a partnership between MoGro Mobile Grocery, 

Presbyterian Healthcare Services (PHS), and eight local producer participants. MoGro provides crucial 

supply chain interventions with cold storage, product pickup, delivery to new rural access points, and 

coordination and relationship building between producers and HCPs. PHS provides an extensive patient 

network, serving 1 in 2 New Mexicans; an advanced patient referral system that integrates referrals for 

healthy local food; and a wide and relevant audience for data dissemination. Major activities include 

creating purchase agreements, improved food safety plans, and coordination activities to create bonds 

between producers and institutions, and data dissemination to other major healthcare institutions and 

insurance providers.

New York 

Recipient: Farm Generations Cooperative, Germantown, NY. 

District: NY-019

Project Type: Farm to Institution

Award Amount: $726,994.22

Match Amount: $182,666.36

Total Project Amount: $909,660.58

Connecting Hudson Valley Farmers to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) with an Online 

Wholesale Marketplace

The project will bring together agricultural producers, a premier culinary college, and the Farm 

Generations Cooperative to dramatically increase the amount of local food purchased by the CIA and 

other regional institutions. The goal will be accomplished with 1) research and a local procurement pilot 

at the CIA, and 2) a new online marketplace to facilitate the sourcing logistics, billing, supply-demand 

planning, and inventory challenges faced by producers and the CIA. Agricultural producers, CIA faculty, 

administrators, and procurement staff will be involved in every stage of the project, from identifying 

challenges, to clarifying technical specifications, and ultimately using the new online wholesale 

marketplace to significantly increase the amount of local food purchased by the CIA. The deliverables 

include 1) a public summary of a needs assessment focused on increasing local food procurement at CIA; 

2) a collaboratively-written product specification for an online wholesale marketplace; 3) a marketplace 

application that will be tested by CIA and producer collaborators; 4) a public report on the impact of 

CIA’s local food procurement pilot on the regional food economy; and 5) release of the online wholesale 

marketplace for public use nationwide. This project will result in an innovative, affordable, and 

cooperatively-owned technical solution to the nationwide challenge of facilitating farm-to-institution 

sales. 
Recipient: Fresh Fix, LLC., Buffalo, NY. 

District: NY-026

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $732,596.00

Match Amount: $185,217.00

Total Project Amount: $917,813.00

A regional food hub to support small farmers, local food business, and nonprofits addressing 

food insecurity

Many small farmers in Western New York are not able to sell to a food hub because they do not meet 

minimum case numbers or other requirements. Similarly, many small buyers seeking to source local

foods, like nonprofits serving low resource communities, small stores, and restaurants, may not have 

access to a food hub due to minimum orders, cost-prohibitive mark-ups, or other barriers. FreshFix 

currently aggregates locally grown produce for home delivery to retail customers and has seen 

increasing demand to also offer wholesale to nonprofit organizations and small food businesses. This 

project is proposing to expand operations to include wholesale and creating a hybrid food hub model 

that will fill a gap in small-scale local food aggregation in our region, addressing a need for streamlined 

food aggregation and distribution for small farmers and buyers. To ensure success, FreshFix will train 

and provide supplies to farmers and coordinate a campaign to promote locally grown food to 

consumers. FreshFix will work with partners including the University at Buffalo to provide evaluation, 

partnership development, campaign tracking, and technical assistance to nonprofits on developing food 

insecurity programming, as well as recruiting entrepreneurs to create value-added products using excess 

produce, thereby reducing farm waste. 

Recipient: The New York Wine and Culinary Center, Inc., Canandaigua, NY. 

District: NY-024

Project Type: TurnKey Marketing and Promotion

Award Amount: $100,000.00

Match Amount: $25,000.00

Total Project Amount: $125,000.00

Promotional Access & Availability to Regional & Local Agricultural Products New York State

(NYS), Finger Lakes Region

The purpose of this project is to support both local and regional food business product distribution 

through promotional media purchases and key industry partnership marketing activities. This will be 

accomplished through improved social media, producer-to-consumer engagement activities, and 

educational classes that incorporate local food products. Project deliverables include amplified 

awareness of agricultural product availability to the increased number of visitors to NYS (both in person 

and on-line), allowing for the direct expansion and distribution of NYS food enterprise products. 

Strategic partnerships and coordinated marketing engagement efforts will lead to streamlined regional 

messaging of local food availability, that will also be reinforced with marketing promotion materials. NYS

will evaluate these promotional activities to best support regional food business enterprises while also 

supporting the local economy. 
Ohio 

Recipient: Appalachian Center for Economic Networks, Athens, OH.

District: OH-015

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $213,360.37

Match Amount: $53,341.04

Total Project Amount: $266,701.41

Community and Commerce: Cultivating Market Capacity through Peer Exchange

The Community and Commerce: Cultivating Market Capacity through Peer Exchange project, facilitated 

by the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet) will manage a peer learning network to 

identify and catalogue successful models of community markets rooted in local ownership. These 

market champions in Ohio and West Virginia, have activated local food economies to design inclusive, 

community marketplaces that layer cooperative values, social enterprise practices and explicit value 

chain coordination. Established and emergent markets will serve as learning centers: Local Roots Market 

& Café, Keller Market House, The Wild Ramp, Mountain Farm Community Grocery, and The Public 

Market. The established marketplaces, currently source from over 300 produce farmers, livestock 

operators and value-added processors, enabling many local vendors the first entry point in selling at a 

wholesale level. Project activities will address challenges the food enterprise market face in 

expanding vendors; managing ordering and procurement systems; and innovating marketing and 

branding strategies.

Oregon 

Recipient: Pacific NW CSA Coalition, Portland, OR. 

District: OR-003

Project Type: TurnKey Marketing and Promotion

Award Amount: $99,999.00

Match Amount: $25,000.00

Total Project Amount: $124,999.00

Expanding Community Supported Agriculture Market Opportunities in the Pacific Northwest

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a critical market for small-scale farms in Oregon, particularly 

for beginning farmers and BIPOC farmers with limited capital. Yet only 8% of the population knows of 

CSA options, and only 1.5% participate in them. There is great potential to capture this untapped market 

through educating consumers about the benefits of local food consumption. This project will identify 

and address gaps between current and potential CSA consumers, increasing market opportunities for 

CSA farmers. The Pacific Northwest Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (PNWCSA) will study the 

values and food purchasing behaviors of a diverse array of Oregonians, including residents with limited 

income and access to fresh food. Subsequently, PNWCSA develop a strategy to promote CSA to new 

consumers. PNWCSA and regional partners will then administer this campaign throughout the state.

This project is expected to support small-scale farmers by inspiring consumers to take part in Oregon’s 

vibrant local food system. 
Pennsylvania 

Recipient: Vesta Hospitality, LLC., Audubon, PA. 

District: PA-004

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $746,714.00

Match Amount: $200,000.00

Total Project Amount: $946,714.00

Expanding Vesta Kitchen's Locally Sourced Value Added Products and Strengthening 

Partnerships with Regional Farmers.

Vesta Hospitality LLC (dba Vesta Kitchen), based in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, focuses on crafting 

exceptional food with locally and ethically-minded farmers. This project will increase production 

capacity and market opportunities, expanding locally sourced food options, promoting farmer 

relationships, and supporting local markets. Vesta Kitchen's expertise will help local producers create

high-quality value-added products to provide farmers with a consistent revenue source throughout the 

year. This collaboration currently consists of over 50 local farms, operating through 20-25 sales 

channels. With grant support, Vesta Kitchen will grow additional partnerships and increase sales 

channels to 75, allowing more avenues for farmers to get their products to market. The project’s 

objectives are to: 1) expand the range of locally sourced prepared food options and enhance production 

efficiency; 2) Strengthen marketing efforts to emphasize farmer relationships and the use of local 

ingredients in Vesta Kitchen's prepared foods, and 3) broaden local food customer base by employing a 

diverse set of marketing strategies. The project is expected to create new sales channels for local farm 

and ranch products by incorporating them into Vesta Kitchen's value-added products and prepared 

foods at various outlets such as farmers markets, CSA add-ons, and local retail stores.

South Carolina 

Recipient: Partners for Active Living, Spartanburg, SC.

District: SC-004

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $661,774.78

Match Amount: $166,963.00

Total Project Amount: $828,737.78

2023 Strengthening the Local Food System in Spartanburg, SC through PAL’s Food Hub

Play. Advocate. Live Well.’s (PAL) ’s project will strengthen and expand its food hub’s capacity to serve 

more people in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, and provide increased economic opportunities for 

producers and food businesses in the region. In partnership with multiple organizations including Ruth’s 

Gleanings, Hub City Farmers Market, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, and Spartanburg County 

Farm Bureau, and led by a Food Hub Committee that includes a farmer, a person with lived experience, 

and many others, PAL will grow and strengthen their food hub to create more opportunity for residents 

and institutions to access local food. Food will be purchased and sold to restaurants, stores, schools, and 

hospitals. The project’s objectives are to: 1) increase institutional buyers through outreach, listening, 
and technical support; 2) increase amount of local food purchased at market rate for donation and/or 

subsidy to underserved communities; 3) increase education, training, resources and technical support 

for small farmers and ranchers, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, and 

veteran producers; 4) increase number of GAP certified farmers on the food hub’s price list; and 5) 

market the food hub and local food. 

Virginia 

Recipient: Local Food Hub, Charlottesville, VA. 

District: VA-005

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $250,000.00

Match Amount: $62,500.00

Total Project Amount: $312,500.00

Eastern Food Hub Collaborative: Increasing Resilience and Market Opportunity Through 

Collaborative Distribution

The Eastern Food Hub Collaborative (EFC), a program of Local Food Hub, is a network of food hubs and 

food system organizations working together to expand opportunities for farmers and equitable access to 

good food for all people. Through this program, the EFC will complete four planning objectives: 1) 

undertake a multi-year, multi-stakeholder strategic planning process to establish a five-year vision for 

equitable and impactful network development and governance; 2) respond to changing technology 

needs by piloting integrated supply/demand forecasting and production planning systems, as well as 

developing tools to increase collaboration on food system resilience, access, and equity; 3) design a hubto-hub (H2H) trade agreement toolkit, providing best practices and financial proformas based on realworld transactions between members; and 4) facilitate virtual and face-to-face convenings of EFC 

members and outside stakeholders, resulting in demonstrably increased peer-to-peer engagement, 

resource sharing, and trade. During the program, the EFC will grow to support 1,200 growers, provide 

new market opportunities for 20 food hub trading partners and 10 collaborating organizations, and 

generate sales of local and regional food.

Washington 

Recipient: Washington State University, Pullman, WA. 

District: WA-005

Project Type: Planning 

Award Amount: $76,999.00

Match Amount: $19,684.00

Total Project Amount: $96,683.00

Logistics and Efficiency of Local Food Distribution in Kitsap County, Washington

This project will bring together a diverse group of food system stakeholders and area farmers to conduct 

a local food distribution assessment in Kitsap County, Washington. The project will collaborate with an 

existing network of partners taking part in the Kitsap Food System Round Table. Partners in the project 
include Kitsap Fresh, Kitsap Conservation District, Kitsap Community Food Co-op, Kitsap Harvest and 

Central Kitsap Food Bank. These partners will collaborate alongside Washington State University (WSU)

Kitsap Extension and WSU’s Social and Economic Sciences Research Center to conduct a series of 

qualitative, semistructured interviews. Through collected data, the project will provide an analysis of the 

existing distribution system, identifying gaps and exploring potential partnerships. At least one new 

distribution model will be recommended that meets the needs of at least 30 producers and 7 food 

access organizations. The recommended model will focus on improved efficiencies and economic 

benefits for area farmers and become the proposed blueprint for the future implementation of a 

collaborative local food distribution system.

Recipient: Whatcom Community Foundation, Bellingham, WA. 

District: WA-002

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $250,000.00

Match Amount: $64,182.00

Total Project Amount: $314,182.00

Farm-to-Freezer Operating Model for a Local Food Campus in Whatcom County

Whatcom Community Foundation (WCF) works to facilitate collaboration and bring resources together 

to meet ever-changing community needs and opportunities. Through this project, WCF will design a 

Farm-to-Freezer production program to anchor a local food campus in Bellingham, Washington, that will 

grow and sustain wholesale markets for area farmers and improve access to food for those experiencing 

food insecurity. The Farm-to-Freezer program will benefit local farmers by providing a steady market 

channel for them to sell their produce when crops are abundant; enable institutions and feeding 

agencies to distribute frozen meals, soups, and value-added products made from fresh, local produce, 

shortening, and strengthening supply chains; and expand access to and increase the consumption of 

locally grown produce outside of the growing season.

Recipient: Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, La Conner, WA. 

District: WA-002

Project Type: TurnKey Marketing and Promotion

Award Amount: $98,900.00

Match Amount: $25,727.58

Total Project Amount: $124,627.58

Swinomish Shellfish Marketing Promotion

The Swinomish Tribe is working with the Swinomish Shellfish Company (SSC) in a collaborative

marketing and promotional effort to solidify SSC’s presence in the regional shellfish retail industry and 

to help it recover from the worldwide pandemic, economic downturns, and adverse weather impacting 

shellfish production. The goal of this project is to develop and expand SSC, a small local shellfish 

business, into strong competitive business that can participate in the regional shellfish marketplace. The 

project objectives include updating SSC’s current marketing strategy and formalize it into a marketing 

plan that takes advantage of shifts in the market place and consumer trends. SSC plans to 1) launch an 
aggressive promotional campaign that takes advantage of electronic and physical venues and outlet; 2) 

update the SSC website, online store, webpages on other sales sites, and media pages; and 3) develop

promotional sites and materials.

Wisconsin 

Recipient: Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Keshena, WI. 

District: WI-008

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $677,173.00

Match Amount: $249,763.00

Total Project Amount: $926,936.00

Menominee Local Food Promotion Program

The Menominee Indian Tribe (Tribe) aims to renew a culturally vibrant food system to address poor 

health outcomes and limited access to healthy foods while the community renewing a strong sense of 

cultural identity and connection amongst the Menominee people. The intent of this project is to assist 

with the development, coordination and renewal of the local food system that reflects the Menominee 

people, language, culture, and land in a “farm-to-table” format; this will be accomplished through the 

implementation of a community food processing strategy and a communication strategy to be 

streamlined through the new commercial grade community kitchen. The Tribe will support community 

entrepreneurs by managing a community kitchen and facilitating outreach to support community 

members who aspire to process food. Objectives are to 1) utilize the new community kitchen for use 

and begin to implement the Tribe’s safe food processing strategy by the end of the grant period; 2) 

provide outreach at 25 or more community events by the end of the grant period; and 3) provide 

education and training to at least 50 community members on safe food processing by the end of the 

grant period.

Recipient: Savanna Institute, Madison, WI. 

District: WI-002

Project Type: TurnKey Marketing and Promotion

Award Amount: $100,000.00

Match Amount: $25,000.00

Total Project Amount: $125,000.00

Cultivating “Midwest Superfruit”: Designing a Branding and Marketing Strategy to Increase 

Demand and Farmer Opportunity for Elderberry, Aronia, Black Currant, and Honeyberry in the 

Midwest

The Savanna Institute, a Midwest agroforestry nonprofit, will develop a marketing strategy, plan, and 

materials to position elderberry, aronia, black currant, and honeyberry as being desirable in the minds of 

Midwest buyers and consumers. Funding will be used to fully research this opportunity in the Midwest 

and develop a berry marketing and branding campaign, with associated materials. The campaign will 
help all four crops collectively and individually, with the intention to produce a stakeholder-led structure 

as part of the project.