Transportation and Marketing

Micro-Grants for Food Security Program

Fiscal Year 2021 Description of Funded Projects

Number of Grants Awarded: 5

Amount of Funds Awarded: $4,655,087.50

For more information, please visit: www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/mgfsp. 

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

Alaska

Recipient: Alaska Division of Agriculture, Juneau, AK

Project Type: Initiative

Award Amount: $2,128,040.00

Alaska 2021 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award 

In order to conduct a competitive grant process, the State of Alaska will put out a Request for Proposals

(RFP) soliciting Full Applications for projects conducted by eligible entities that “will increase the 

quantity and quality of locally grown food for food insecure individuals, families, neighborhoods, and 

communities.” The RFP will be placed on the statewide website, forwarded to other agency and 

nonprofit groups, and emailed directly to statewide Cooperative Extension Service (CES) offices. In 

addition, the Division will announce the RFP via a Statewide Media Release, reaching over 100 different 

media outlets and posted to the Division Alaska Grown Facebook page with over 60,000 followers.

The Division of Agriculture has a statewide presence with all the programs that we administer. The 

Division has 2 Facebook pages, does Facebook live presentations on a weekly basis, and consults with 

the non-profit and educational entities involved with food production and food security. Division staff 

present at all the major Agriculture (production and marketing) and Food related conferences. The 

Division also has a webpage and uses the Department of Natural Resources communications team to 

put out press releases, and to do media events on request. The Division gets regular requests for 

updates from the community and legislators (state and national) about this program.

The MGFSB grants are available to all individuals, Indian Tribes or tribal organizations, qualifying 

nonprofits, and federally funded educational facilities. Therefore, everyone in the State of Alaska who 

has a project which will meet the requirements of the program is eligible to participate.
American Samoa

Recipient: American Samoa Government Department of Agriculture, Tafuna, AS

Project Type: Initiative

Award Amount: $133,002.50

American Samoa 2021 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award 

American Samoa Government Department of Agriculture (ASG DOA) will solicit applications from the 

farming community for the competitive distribution of subgrants that increase the quantity and quality 

of locally grown food through small-scale gardening, herding, and livestock operations in communities 

that have significant levels of food insecurity and import a significant quantity of food.

ASG DOA will announce the program at regular monthly meetings that are held with all registered 

farmers at the DOA compound. DOA holds regular meetings with the farming community to 

communicate updates, information, and other announcements as needed. Once announced, the 

program will also be promoted daily via the DOA front office, a key hub for the local farming community.

ASG DOA will announce the program in a coordinated community outreach effort, which will include:

1) Initial Launch: Media releases (ratio, TV and newspaper, social media); Office of Samoan Affairs 

(OSA) presentation (all village mayors attend the biweekly OSA meetings for information, 

updates, etc.); Chamber of Commerce; hardware stores.

2) RFP announcement: Applications will be made available to the farming community. Once the 

initial application window has closed, the Director of DOA will convene an application selection 

panel that consists of 3 members from the following industries: 1) Livestock farming; 2) General 

Agriculture; 3) Project Management/Business Management.

3) Ongoing: In the event that funding remains after the application window has closed and awards 

have been issued, DOA will initiate a second round of grants and follow the same protocol until 

the grant funding is fully deployed.

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Recipient: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Division of Agriculture, Saipan, MP

Project Type: Initiative

Award Amount: $133,002.50

CNMI 2021 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award 

CNMI Department of Agriculture (DOA) will use multiple methods to identify and reach eligible entities. 

DOA staff will use a list of local eligible entities identified by DOA staff including individual farmers, 

ranchers, food pantries, and federal funded educational institutions such as head start, public school 

systems, Northern Marianas College (NMC) Community Research and Extension Services (CREES) and 

call or visit those entities to explain the program and encourage them to apply once the Request for 

Proposal is announced. These entities are all located in CNMI and are managing farms or agriculture 

businesses on the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
DOA staff will also utilize KKMP Radio to disseminate information about the program. They will request 

an hour of airtime to talk about the program, including its requirements, deadlines, and other important 

information. This will ensure the greatest number of eligible entities are reached, as the radio station 

usually interviews guest speakers during morning commute hours. 

The DOA will announce in their Request for Proposal to eligible entities using local newspaper and radio 

ads. In addition, they will conduct virtual workshops via Zoom to explain the application process and 

requirements, making it easier for eligible applicants to apply to the program.

Guam

Recipient: Guam Department of Agriculture, Hagatna, GU

Project Type: Initiative

Award Amount: $133,002.50

Guam 2021 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award 

The Guam Department of Agriculture (GDOAG) will employ multiple methods to identify eligible entities. 

DOAG will employ digital media, print media, and in-person outreach to ensure eligible entities on Guam 

are informed and have access to information about the MGFSP. DOAG’s Agricultural Development 

Services Division (ADS) will conduct targeted outreach to certified farmers through email, phone calls, 

social media, and press releases to inform them about the MGFSP program grant opportunity. The 

information will also be posted on DOAG’s website. Non-governmental organizations (NGO) 

collaborators will be notified of the MGFSP opportunity directly via email and phone calls. Lastly, public 

announcements will be shared with multiple radio talk shows and marketing visuals will be posted on 

DOAG’s main and satellite facilities.

The Guam Department of Agriculture will solicit proposals for MGFSP using networking and marketing 

avenues. DOAG will advertise the MGFSP opportunity on the agency’s website and other social media 

platforms. DOAG will generate a list of NGO collaborators such as the Northern Soil and Water 

Conservation District and the Southern Soil and Water Conservation District, as well as existing farmers 

to use as references to send out emails and flyers. Word of mouth is also a tool to be utilized as Guam 

has a tight knit farming and sustainability community. Lastly, the media will be engaged to assist with 

information dissemination.

Hawaii

Recipient: Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Honolulu, HI

Project Type: Initiative

Award Amount: $2,128,040.00

Hawaii 2021 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award 

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) will identify eligible entities and conduct outreach via 

email, phone, and in-person or virtual meetings. These methods will benefit food insecure communities 

by layering outreach through various local stakeholders, including government agencies tasked to assist 

the food insecure, commodity groups that produce food, entities whose focus is on educating and 
offering hands-on training to students and new farmers and associations whose members could add 

locally consumed food crops to their farm operations. This layered outreach is intended to maximize the 

potential of the MGFSP opportunity to increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food for food 

insecure individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities.

In concurrence with State law, the HDOA will issue a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) with a 

solicitation notice posting to the Hawaii State Procurement Office (SPO) website, followed with email 

notification to agricultural industry groups and individuals statewide. The RFP will state that the purpose 

of the solicitation is to increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food in food insecure 

communities through small-scale gardening, herding and livestock operations. The intent of the Hawaii 

MGFSP will be to support projects that provide the resources to food insecure communities to become 

more food secure, through activities that have measurable outcomes during the project and that will 

result in the applicant’s ability to scale-up production in the longer term. The RFP process provides an 

opportunity for all eligible Hawaii-based individuals and organizations including commodity associations, 

agricultural cooperatives, producer groups, and other non-profit organizations relating to agriculture to 

participate in in the MGFSP.