Transportation and Marketing

Local Food Promotion Program

Fiscal Year 2020 Description of Funded Projects

Number of Grants Awarded: 44

Amount of Funds Awarded: $13,514,045.47

For more information, please visit the grant program's website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/lfpp

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

Alaska

Recipient: Kodiak Harvest Food Cooperative, Kodiak, AK

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $292,940.75

Match Amount: $73,235.19

Total Project Amount: $366,175.94

Kodiak Harvest Food Cooperative Local Food Access Project 

The study “Food Security in Alaska” by Ken Meter et al., found that "95% of the $2 billion of food 

Alaskans purchase is imported – meaning $1.9 billion leaves the state each year.” On the Kodiak 

Archipelago, natural disasters such as earthquakes or the 1964 tsunami--which destroyed all of 

downtown Kodiak--threaten food security because of our reliance on imported goods via barge or air 

cargo. A long transportation chain further degrades food quality as fresh produce loses nutritional 

content to oxidation after harvest. Kodiak Island has numerous small-scale farms, ranches and a robust 

commercial fishing community that lack a centralized marketplace to connect consumers with local food 

products. The Kodiak Harvest Food Cooperative has the support of over 500 members working together 

to overcome these barriers to achieve their mission and “provide Kodiak communities with quality food 

choices that are locally sourced, economically sustainable, and environmentally responsible while 

promoting education and engagement.” The goal of this project is to expand the Kodiak Harvest Food 

Cooperative (KHFC) to connect local producers with Kodiak’s consumers by expanding operations and 

establishing an online food hub for food producers to connect directly with consumers; support the 

processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products marketed locally 

or regionally; and, assist producers to develop and implement food safety plans and achieve food safety 

certifications. We expect to see an increase in consumption of and demand for local and regional food 

products and opportunities to support future local food business development.
Arizona

Recipient: Merchant's Garden Agrotech, Inc., Tucson, AZ

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $99,992.00

Match Amount: $29,799.00

Total Project Amount: $129,791.00

Local Greenhouse Leafy Greens Promotion Program 

Tucson, AZ is rated as the fifth poorest metropolitan area in the U.S. Based on Census data, the poverty 

rate in Tucson is 23.4%, significantly higher than the national level (14%). Approximately 1 in 4 people in 

Tucson live in poverty. The overarching goal of the project is to develop a local/regional fresh produce 

enterprise to promote locally grown leafy greens and other fresh produce in Southern Arizona and to 

increase the availability and access to locally grown fresh produce while offering a sustainable 

community solution of creating jobs and improving the economic viability for small food producers. The 

program will lead to increased access and consumption of locally/regionally produced fresh produce; 

increased customer base and the sales of local fresh produce; newly developed market opportunities for 

serving local food markets; improved the food safety; expanded local/regional fresh produce enterprise; 

and maximized the impact on beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged farmers in LI/LA 

communities of Southern Arizona.

Recipient: Pinnacle Prevention Corp., Chandler, AZ

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $500,000.00

Match Amount: $125,000.00

Total Project Amount: $625,000.00

Scaling Regional Food Solutions for Arizonans 

Arizona food economy is among the leading producers of fruits and vegetables in the country. A small 

number of large-scale operations account for the majority of agricultural sales with the majority of that 

product moving out of the state. While Arizona boasts strong assets in food production and distribution 

out of the state, in-state access to local foods from on-farm agriculture accounts for less than 5% of 

sales. One of the primary barriers limiting the ability for local agriculture to scale in Arizona is the lack of 

infrastructure to support storage, aggregation, transportation, and distribution, and lack of facilitation of 

food chain coordination. The project aims to address expansion needs and barriers by implementing 

cost effective and streamlined transportation chains and to expand and cultivate new online marketing 

channels to improve operational efficiencies for the Arizona regional network of on-farm agriculture 

producers. The goals of this project are to increase access to local food to underserved communities and 

to expand food system infrastructure and operational coordination across the central and southern 

regions of the state to meet needs and demand. The short-term outcomes of this project will result in 

increased sales, increased access to new customers, and increased leveraging of resources for local food 

producers. The long- term outcomes will result in improved transportation efficiencies, a shift in the 
system, and social norms that better support farmer livelihood, and diversified purchasing mechanisms 

for expanding local foods across Arizona.

Recipient: Rosebird Gardens, LLC, Kingman, AZ

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $229,600.00

Match Amount: $57,438.40

Total Project Amount: $287,038.40

Establishing a Network of Local Food Distribution and Improving Food Access in Rural Northern 

Arizona 

Kingman is a growing population center of 30,000 people on historic Route 66 in the high desert of 

Northern Arizona that is currently experiencing unmet demand for fresh, locally produced food. The 

family-owned farms in the region provide both income and healthy produce to local community 

members. However, the quantity of fruit and vegetables produced by these farms is not yet able to 

meet consumer demand or reach families in more rural areas. The purpose of the project is to expand 

the year-round availability and accessibility of locally and regionally produced agricultural products in 

Kingman, Arizona and surrounding regions to assist local farmers and food producers in meeting 

consumer demand. The goals of this project are to (1) provide local farmers with the training and 

infrastructure to successfully build their individual businesses, (2) improve collective marketing of 

Rosebird Gardens partner farms, (3) build a local food aggregation model that supports hyper-local 

farms but sources regionally when necessary, and (4) expand the size of the current CSA program and 

distribution model to meet the needs of rural community members. Implementation of this project will 

increase local farmer income and the quantity of locally and regionally produced fresh produce and food 

products available for consumption by community members.

Arkansas

Recipient: Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development, Little Rock, AR

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $499,956.00

Match Amount: $125,468.00

Total Project Amount: $625,424.00

Forging Value Chains (FVC) - A National Program to Increase Quality, Capacity and Effective 

Market Coordination Among Local and Regional Food Enterprises 

There is a widespread need for accessible training, technical assistance, and research to support the 

expansion and resilience of equitable regional value chains and to increase the competitiveness and 

viability of the businesses that comprise them. The Forging Value Chains project aims to increase the 

capacity of small/mid-size farms and food businesses to 1) create collaborative value chain relationships 

for greater, more stable market opportunities; 2) navigate wholesale marketing channels for improved 

financial viability, and 3) adopt and implement a culture of quality and food safety for increased market 

access. To achieve these goals, we will develop and deliver skill-building resources, technical training, 
peer learning opportunities, and knowledge products focused on building capacity in three critical areas: 

value chain coordination, quality management, and food safety. We will develop and deliver 

comprehensive technical training curricula, launch two national Communities of Practice, facilitate a 

peer mentorship program, conduct research on best practices and innovations, develop and pilot a 

Value Chain Coordination Impact Framework, and create a national resource library for regional value 

chain development. The project will increase the capacity of over 4,500 individuals who work in and 

support producers and regional food businesses engaged in intermediated markets, resulting in more 

profitable and competitive regional value chains, increased adoption of Quality Management Systems,

and increased utilization of the USDA GroupGAP program.

California

Recipient: Community Partners, Los Angeles, CA

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $99,467.00

Match Amount: $29,023.00

Total Project Amount: $128,490.00

Zero-waste Food Enterprise Planning Project: Developing New Value-added Products and Market 

Opportunities 

The project addresses a need to increase the capacity to develop and distribute local/regional 

agricultural products to improve food security in low-income South Los Angeles (SLA)neighborhoods. 

The project will establish a network of partner farms and food producers who can inform and benefit 

from the Enterprise’s food production/waste reduction programs. A business plan will lay the 

foundation for this enterprise that trains/employs SLA youth to use Zero-waste principals to develop 

new value-added agricultural products utilizing partner farms’ produce, and advocate for/support other 

SLA food producers to do the same. Partners will assess the feasibility of creating a college accredited 

program to sustain/replicate the enterprise and determine how an existing mapping app could promote 

the network and new products. This multi-sector network creates a blueprint to increase food security 

in SLA through a new zero-waste enterprise that creates local/regional food products for consumers, 

increases revenue streams for farmers and producers, reduces farm/community food waste, and creates 

jobs for youth.

Colorado

Recipient: Mountain Roots Food Project, Gunnison, CO

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $99,963.00

Match Amount: $25,014.00

Total Project Amount: $124,977.00

Mountain Roots - Southwest Colorado Local Food Hub-to-Node Connectivity Project (Planning) 

Southwest Colorado is a sparsely populated 26,000-square-mile region of rural open space, high 

mountains, desert sage, and lush river valleys, where more than 10 census tracts in our service area are 
low-income/low-access. As demand for local food increases, the region has seen an emergence of more 

than one hundred small-scale producers and at least six start-up enterprises functioning as 

intermediaries. Producers are interested in scaling up farm businesses; buyers in four key markets 

(wholesale, retail/individual, institution, and SNAP recipients) expressed increased interest in local 

products. Our areas of abundant supply are not connected to the areas with the highest market 

demand. Mountain Roots’ Hub-to-Node-Connectivity planning project will engage the region’s

producers, buyers, and intermediaries in roundtables to map assets and to study the specific barriers to 

accessing local foods, make matches between producers and buyers to field test top strategies identified 

in a season-long pilot, then collaboratively design a regional business development plan that will expand 

up to six intermediary enterprises, expand producer capacity, and link these enterprises in more 

efficient and effective hub- to-node network. The expected outcomes are that producers gain increased 

access to wider regional markets and increased sales; buyers have access to consistent sources of local 

products in larger volumes over a longer period; regional food economies are connected and cultivated 

through strengthened partnerships collaborative network design. This useful model can be adapted by 

other rural communities wishing to expand mid-tier value chains, producer capacity, and market 

opportunities using a hub-to-node design that is better suited to rural regions.

Recipient: Onward! A Legacy Foundation, Cortez, CO

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $323,444.00

Match Amount: $80,960.00

Total Project Amount: $404,404.00

Southwest Colorado Mobile Juicing Services: Providing Farmers and Businesses with Value-added 

Market Opportunities 

This project will help create economic benefits for the rural southwestern Colorado farmers. Although 

nearly 50,000 bushels of apples grow on these unique trees each year, most end up rotting or being 

eaten by foraging animals. This project will generate income for local farmers by turning such apples 

into marketable pasteurized juice for retail consumption and unpasteurized juice for cider production. 

Cider makers, food hubs, and other local enterprises will use this value-added, heritage apple juice in 

the products they market and sell. MORP will acquire a mobile juice press, be trained and certified to 

operate the press, and provide mobile juicing to farmers in southwestern Colorado. As a result, small 

family farms that have not seen reliable markets for their apples in decades will receive revenue from 

their fruit. With time, this will lead to more orchard owners maintaining their historic and unique fruit 

trees because of the economic value of doing so. These orchards are irreplaceable building blocks for a 

restored economy based upon the legendary quality and diversity of Montezuma Valley Fruits.
Connecticut

Recipient: City Seed, Inc., New Haven, CT

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $100,000.00

Match Amount: $33,669.50

Total Project Amount: $133,669.50

Establishment of CitySeed Incubates Shared Use Commercial Kitchen 

CitySeed proposes to launch New Haven’s first private membership-based Commercial Kitchen and Food 

Business Incubator. This will be New Haven’s first commercial kitchen, with an additional focus on 

supporting under-resourced, under-funded entrepreneurs (particularly people of color, women, and 

immigrants). Funds will enable us 1) to outline a business model and operational plan for CitySeed 

Incubates that supports food-based business incubation and acceleration of early stage food ventures; 

2) to determine the physical and technical feasibility of potential CitySeed Incubates facility locations; 

and 3) to engage a diverse network of community partners in informing and supporting the launch of 

CitySeed Incubates, including building a membership recruitment pipeline. A USDA Planning Grant will 

facilitate the development of about $62,000 in local Connecticut food products and create 36 jobs 

during the grant period.

Recipient: Oakridge Dairy LLC (DBA Modern Milkman), Ellington, CT

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $500,000.00

Match Amount: $125,000.00

Total Project Amount: $625,000.00

Modern Milkman Weekly Staple Box: Delivering Safe and Healthy Food & Connecting Farmers 

and Food Companies with their Communities with Fresh, Quality Local Products 

We provide farm-fresh refrigerator staples like milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs, along with local 

baked goods, shipped right to the door, and managed with a simple online or mobile application. We 

offer transparency in our operations to connect with new customers, sharing the 120-year history and 

the story of how Oakridge Dairy milk, as the base product of the subscription package, is produced 

locally in Ellington, CT, bottled down the road in Bolton, CT at Fish Family Creamery, and delivered to 

area customers the next day, along with other farm and local food product add-on. The IT platform

enables local food distribution in a convenient weekly staple box subscription service including 

products like the incredible Fiery Red Pepper and Dill & Spring Onion Cottage Cheese Dips from 

Courtney’s Dips and Sauces of Berlin, CT; Farm Fresh Eggs from Hillandale Farms in Bozrah, CT; Farmmade Yogurt from Woodstock Creamery at the Valleyside Farm in Woodstock, CT; along with fresh 

butter and a rotating weekly cheese selection from Liuzzi’s in Hamden, CT and Smith’s Country Cheese 

in Winchendon, MA; hand-crafted Arethusa sour cream from Litchfield, CT like it used to be made; and 

a special treat of small- batch granola, a fresh baked cookie of the week, or a braided loaf of rich egg 

and milk Swiss Wecka Bread from famous LuAnn’s Bakery in Ellington, CT. We’re building upon our 

relationship with the surrounding community to break away from volatile swings of the commodity 

markets, creating a direct market to serve quality local products to a portion of the 20 million people 
within 100 miles, starting within 10 miles around the farm. We build with expansion for efficiency and 

cross promotion for all of the farm and food company partners involved to keep local, strong in these 

critical times.

District of Columbia

Recipient: Freshfarm Markets, Inc., Washington, DC

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $499,297.55

Match Amount: $125,220.21

Total Project Amount: $624,517.76

Pop Up Food Hub: Innovation for Food Distribution in the Mid-Atlantic 

FRESHFARM seeks to expand our innovative model of local food aggregation and distribution that 

creates new and diversified income streams for farmers while expanding consumer access to locally 

produced foods. The program will grow four-fold by expanding from Washington, DC to the greater DCMetro area, including Northern Virginia and Maryland. 40 farmers, 125 community-based organizations, 

and over 17,000 residents will experience the benefits of local food systems thanks to this project.The 

Pop Up Food Hub (PUFH) utilizes farmer's markets infrastructure and logistics to make local agricultural

products available to individual customers, small businesses, and community-based organizations that 

have been excluded from participating in the local food system. Through a combination of direct-toconsumer (farmers market), subscription (CSA), and wholesale food sales, the program will grow sales 

directly to 40 local farms. Timing is essential for this expansion, as recent weaknesses in the national 

food supply chain have driven new customers to the local food supply. The pilot has established proof of 

concept, including the sizable market among underserved residents and symbiotic partnerships with

local farms. FRESHFARM is uniquely positioned with expertise and capacity to immediately take 

advantage of this punctuated moment for local food systems.

Florida

Recipient: Tampa Metropolitan Area Young Men's Christian Association, Tampa, FL

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $58,006.00

Match Amount: $14,502.00

Total Project Amount: $72,508.00

Veggie Van—A Mobile Marketplace Expansion Planning 

The Tampa YMCA launched the Veggie Van, a mobile food market, in 2015 to ensure that individuals 

most in need have access to nutritious produce by bringing it directly to them. This increased access 

means fewer individuals living in food deserts and/or swamps in the community go hungry. The Veggie 

Van served 18,869 individuals/families (duplicated) a total of 37,738 bags of fresh produce which is the 

equivalent of 339,642 pounds of produce or 283,035 meals. The Veggie Van seeks funding support to 

investigate how it can partner with local farmers to add more locally-grown produce to the existing 

operation. Funds will be utilized to hire a food access consultant to lead the development of two plans: 
1) A plan for purchasing locally-grown produce directly from farmers for Veggie Van food distribution 

and 2) A plan to expand and increase local food distribution to communities in the highest need. These 

plans will result in a road map to work with local farmers to increase the distribution of local produce,

clients’ knowledge of the local farms in the area, and expand services in a sustainable manner.

Recipient: The Natural Resources, LLC, Hilliard, FL

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $490,577.81

Match Amount: $164,121.00

Total Project Amount: $654,698.81

Building a Sustainable Food Hub: Farm2Fork Connection 

This project is a collaborative and comprehensive response to critical food system infrastructure, health 

and employment need facing residents of North Florida and South Georgia ("the Region"). We will focus 

on the development, coordination, and expansion of a community food hub, improving food marketing, 

distribution, access, and education by partnering with, promoting, and expanding the distribution

channels of food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in producer to consumer marketing 

and producer to wholesale marketing - to address root causes to health issues and support a diverse 

community with self-reliant small farmers and food distributors, and sustainable employment 

opportunities for years to come. At its core, Farm2Fork Connection will increase access to and 

availability of locally and regionally-produced agricultural products and, in doing so, will meet the food 

needs of low-income residents, educational institutions, and select other foodservice channels while 

increasing our community farmers' and food distributors' resilience and expertise for years to come. We 

will provide a long-term solution to the critical food system infrastructure, health, and employment 

needs of the Region. We will be a catalyst for community transformation, easily scalable and replicable -

- and a major step forward in a collaborative effort to establish a sustainable food hub. With this 

enhanced infrastructure and our strong history of operating success already in place, this one-time 

infusion of federal dollars will immediately elevate our current efforts, getting sustainably produced and 

nutritious local food on to the plates of those that need it most.

Hawaii

Recipient: Hawaii Ulu Producers Cooperative, Kailua-Kona, HI

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $499,995.15

Match Amount: $128,946.00

Total Project Amount: $628,941.15

Scale-up and Expansion of Hawaii Ulu Cooperative 

The proposed project builds upon the pioneering efforts of the Hawaii Ulu Producers Cooperative (HUC) 

over the past 3.5 years to revitalize breadfruit as a viable crop and dietary staple in the State of Hawaii. 

From a severely underutilized and largely forgotten indigenous starch only a decade or two ago, 

breadfruit is now emerging as one of the islands’ best hopes for increased food security, climate change 
resilience, economic diversification, and cultural preservation. However, with 96% of Hawaii farmers 

being small-scale, highly diversified, and generally lacking in a professional capacity, and with majorgaps

remaining in consumers’ familiarity with breadfruit, tremendous work is still needed to fully realize the 

crop’s potential. The proposed project provides the resources and community collaborations needed to 

deliver this growing movement from a state of “demonstration” to successful “deployment” as a 

commercially viable anchor of the islands’ local food system. Specific activities include: 1) targeted 

promotion and education of breadfruit as well as other local and indigenous starches (“co-crops”) in 

partnership with the State Department of Education (HIDOE), restaurants, retailers, hospitals, prominent

chefs, and Hawaiian cultural practitioners; 2) supply chain development through farmer capacity 

building and key infrastructure upgrades; and 3) market diversification focused on online, CSA, and 

retail-oriented channels in order to address COVID-19-related market trends and to stabilize and 

increase local grower returns.

Indiana

Recipient: This Old Farm, Inc, Colfax, IN

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $498,114.00

Match Amount: $140,500.00

Total Project Amount: $638,614.00

Local Meat Market Expansion Implementation 

Our global pandemic has changed our world and brought the need for local food marketplaces to the 

forefront. Meat shortages have been seen as the larger commodity hog and beef facilities struggle to 

stay open. Meanwhile, in Colfax, IN This Old Farm Meats and Processing has continued to have beef, 

pork, and poultry available for sale from our network of local farms. Livestock producers have a hard 

time getting a market ready product produced. This Old Farm has worked for the last 10 years to help 

producers grow their markets by offering meat slaughter and processing services as well as aggregation 

of local meat products for wholesale sale. Currently This Old Farm is a rural business. To reach a ready 

retail market, This Old Farm looks to open a new Urban Old World Style Butcher Shop every 2-3 years 

starting in 2021. To meet the increased demand, farmer outreach programs will be expanded. 

Educational programming will be offered for youth, beginning farmers, as well as existing farmers that 

are new to selling direct to consumer. The pandemic has brought many farmers to us that had 

previously only sold through traditional markets. This new interest in local sales needs to be matched 

with education and appropriate services to help them stay engaged. To further encourage farmers to 

continue to direct market, Research and Development on shelf stable and other market ready product 

lines that can better compete in today’s marketplace willbe supported.
Iowa

Recipient: Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames, IA

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $66,958.00

Match Amount: $17,392.00

Total Project Amount: $84,350.00

Growing Pasture-Raised Meat Supply Chains in Iowa 

To transform Iowa into a scene reminiscent of a verdant patchwork quilt - symbolic of a diverse and 

healthy landscape - we must create stable market incentives for pasture-based livestock agriculture. If 

viable markets existed, farmers would experience control over marketing decisions and increased 

profitability. This would improve their quality of life and more farmers would transition to diversified 

production systems. Farmers currently have a greater proportion of consumers’ attention and 

willingness to spend money on local food. The combination of an innovative market serving a network of 

regenerative farmers plus eager, conscientious consumers contributes to a resilient, healthy food 

supply. A critical mass of like-minded, regenerative livestock farmers exists in Iowa, and they’re ready to 

work together on something larger than is achievable as individuals. These farmers have identified 

marketing as their largest obstacle; either spending the majority of their energy direct marketing under 

their brands or undercutting themselves by selling livestock at conventional auctions in order to avoid 

marketing altogether. A middle ground exists, but key links in the supply chain need to be in place to 

conceive a viable business. This project will provide the connections necessary to establish market 

alternatives and develop farmers to be innovative entrepreneurs. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) will 

hire an agriculture marketing consultant to work with a group of 60 farmers, including three marketsavvy farmers who will develop a business plan for a pasture-raised, Iowa-based meat company. This 

project supports small farm viability, environmental stewardship, and supply chain resiliency.

Kentucky

Recipient: Four Hills Farm, LLC, Salvisa, KY

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $465,892.00

Match Amount: $304,638.00

Total Project Amount: $770,530.00

Expansion of Lamb Mid-Tier Value Chain 

Four Hills Farm (FHF) is an experienced small business (LLC) and sheep farm with a solid twelve-year 

track record for aggregating, processing and marketing fresh lamb to wholesale accounts. Small and 

mid-sized sheep farms in the Midwest and Southeast regions do not typically have access to wholesale 

markets that provide consistent and profitable returns. This is due to their inability as individual 

enterprises to supply the volume, consistent quality, logistics, and marketing needed to deal directly 

with major grocery store chains. Four Hills Farm has created a year-round market for our network farms 

to supply a major retailer. In addition to offering a steady, stable price, FHF has created a significant 

opportunity for farmers to expand their sheep enterprises and make continuous production 
improvements over time. Currently we sell fresh lamb weekly to a nationally known supermarket chain 

with stores in Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. We have an opportunity to increase sales with this 

customer into the Mid-West Region. By meeting our two objectives, both lamb supply chain and market 

expansions, we propose to increase lamb sales 65% in the next three years. The LFPP grant will result in 

35 farms (22 new) in our network having access to a steady profitable wholesale market with growth 

opportunities and $1.8 million dollars of lamb sold annually, with proceeds of which will be distributed 

to farms and related businesses in rural Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North 

Carolina.

Louisiana

Recipient: Twin Parish Port District (Port of Delcambre), Delcambre, LA

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $73,480.00

Match Amount: $18,370.00

Total Project Amount: $91,850.00

Acadiana Regional Seafood Hub Planning Study 

Demand for seafood in south Louisiana has increased in recent years. As more fishermen are looking to 

direct sales and to processing their own catch, a need has arisen for more outlets for them. This 

proposal seeks to establish a regional seafood hub in a multi-use facility in southwest coastal Louisiana 

that will act as an intermediary for indirect producer to consumer marketing and sales for fishers who 

work the coastal waters. Fishermen along the coast need a central location to be able to make their 

product more accessible to the public. This project will fund a feasibility study, a business development 

plan, and coordinated outreach efforts to producers, food business entrepreneurs, and institutions. The 

seafood hub facility will have a commercial shared kitchen designed to allow producers to create and 

test value added products and to conduct food demonstrations. It will provide an area for packing, 

storing and preparing shipments of frozen seafood and value-added products for retail and online sales. 

The project will include outreach to a limited number of regional specialty markets to expand 

distribution outlets for producers participating in the seafood hub. Informational and educational 

materials and outreach to producers will focus on the benefits of participating in the seafood hub and 

the benefits of agritourism activities. Expected outcomes establish a location for a food business 

enterprise that aggregates seafood products, creates value added products, and packs/stores/ships 

products. An additional outcome identifies and educates interested seafood producers and informs 

institutional demand for regional products.
Maryland

Recipient: Montgomery County Food Council, Bethesda, MD

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $100,000.00

Match Amount: $92,713.00

Total Project Amount: $192,713.00

Increasing Economic Opportunities, including Market Access and Business Scaling, for Farmers 

and Food Entrepreneurs in Montgomery County, Maryland through the Expansion of the MoCo 

Made Program 

Montgomery County Food Council (MCFC)’s LFPP project aims to increase food producers’ access to 

customers, infrastructure, and financing in Montgomery County, Maryland. It builds upon MCFC’s 2017-

20 MoCo Made Pilot, which connects food producers to wholesale and retail markets, increases the 

visibility of locally produced food, provides educational resources for food producers, supports local 

procurement expansion, and convenes farmers and packaged food producers. The pilot introduced the 

use of marketing, product labels, and signage allowing consumers to identify and purchase locallyproduced food. Surveys indicate that 69% of pilot participants benefited from their involvement in the 

program, including increased brand recognition and sales, and access to new wholesale and retail 

customers. MCFC seeks to evaluate strategies to further increase the production capacity of small food 

producers, to better understand their infrastructure needs and barriers, and to facilitate farmers’ access 

to cooperative farm-to-table aggregation and distribution opportunities and build upon the pilot’s 

successful Food and Beverage Guide which marketed 73 local food producers at 15+ local retailers. This 

project will increase opportunities for 550 local farmers while also increasing the consumption of, and 

access to, locally produced food in Montgomery County. This implementation project will reach an 

estimated 5,694 beneficiaries in Montgomery County, including 5,073 residents, 550 local farmers and 

food producers, and 26 retailers.

Massachusetts

Recipient: Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts (SBN), Cambridge, MA

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $100,000.00

Match Amount: $25,001.13

Total Project Amount: $125,001.13

Adding Value to Massachusetts Farmer and Fisher Wholesale Viability 

As weaknesses in the global food supply chain are exposed with each passing year, the importance of 

building and sustaining local food systems year-round has become more and more clear. In order to 

increase consumer access to locally-sourced food and increase food producer profits and viability, SBN 

seeks to conduct a market assessment to identify 3 consumer- demanded and underproduced valueadded local food products. A pilot launch will assist 2 local farmers or fishermen in creating 2 of the 

market assessment identified products, taste-testing the products among consumers, and connecting 

the food producers to 20 interested food buyers. The expected outcomes of the market assessment and 
pilot launch are, to determine demand across income levels for 3 underproduced value-added local food 

products, including culturally connected foods that serve lower-income communities; identify technical 

assistance resources that local farmers and fishermen need to produce demanded value-added 

products; and to facilitate farmer and fishermen connections to wholesale and institutional channels 

willing to sell demanded value-added food productsThis planning project will assess the feasibility of 

creating a new Value-Added Training & Matching Program within SBN's annual Local Food & Specialty 

Crop Trade Show programming. The Value-Added Training & Matching Program would pair value-added 

food producers to food buyers, provide year-long value- added technical assistance to farmers and 

fishermen, and educate farmers, fishermen, and wholesale & institutional buyers on consumer demand 

for value-added local food products.

Recipient: Tufts University Boston, Boston, MA

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $499,999.00

Match Amount: $126,233.00

Total Project Amount: $626,232.00

Promoting year-round Distribution of Local Produce Grown by Small, Beginning, and Socially 

Disadvantaged Farmers through Development of New product Lines and Distribution Strategies 

New Entry supports 20+ beginning and limited resource and socially disadvantaged farmers to build 

thriving farm businesses by providing aggregation services and facilitating market connections through a 

food hub. This project will add value to in-season production to increase distribution of local produce to 

8 food access partner sites as well as to an existing and expanded customer base throughout Greater 

Boston. Our target market includes: senior citizens served by four community senior centers, low 

income clients served at several food pantries, and current and future customers of the New Entry CSA. 

We propose to develop two distinct value-added and minimally processed product lines, one targeted 

for our food access work (senior centers and emergency feeding programs) and the other as high-value 

products for our existing and future CSA customer base. New Entry’s Food Hub currently distributes for 

a 20-week period (June-October), this project would expand the Food Hub’s local food distribution for 

an additional 10 weeks to all of its Greater Boston customers and food access partners. We propose to 

increase sales revenues for local farmers by partnering with Commonwealth Kitchen and Western MA 

Food Processing Center to capture bulk peak-season produce and facilitate minimal processing. 

Anticipated project outcomes include $450,000 in increased purchasing from local farmers; 120 farmers 

trained on scaling up production, value-added, extending the season, and food safety; reducing food 

waste; and increasing the accessibility, duration, and quantity of healthy, local produce made available 

to Greater Boston residents regardless of economic standing.
Michigan

Recipient: Damian's Craft Meats L.L.C., Ann Arbor, MI

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $95,535.00

Match Amount: $25,000.00

Total Project Amount: $120,535.00

Developing Southeast Michigan’s Local Meat Value Chain via Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration, 

Feasibility, Business Planning, and Facility Design 

The disparate impact of the dual public health and economic crises from COVID-19 is acutely felt by the 

meat industry, making this moment even more urgent. This window of disruption presents an 

opportunity to reverse patterns of inequality, consolidation, and disinvestment in order to advance an 

equitable food system and expand the local meat value chain in southeast Michigan. The purpose of this 

project is to bolster the growth of southeast Michigan’s meat sector through community collaboration 

and planning to better support the processing, aggregation, storage, and distribution of locally and 

regionally produced meat products. This public/private partnership will help realize the vision of a 

sustainable, vibrant, and thriving southeast Michigan meat value chain, serving as a replicable model for 

other sites across the country. Project leaders will drive the project, including completion of a 

comprehensive feasibility study, business plan and facility design for a multi- species USDA-inspected 

small processing business. Partners will make conference and webinar presentations to publicly 

disseminate final plans and lessons learned. Expected outcomes include plans that, if implemented, 

result in access to new market opportunities, processing services, meat storage, distribution channels, 

and potential herd expansion for 55 or more livestock producers. If implemented, this facility would 

create nine or more new jobs, ideally in a low income and low access area.

New Jersey

Recipient: Elijah's Promise, New Brunswick, NJ

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $293,750.00

Match Amount: $90,600.00

Total Project Amount: $384,350.00

Harnessing Local Value-Added Production Social Enterprise to Expand Sales Opportunities and 

Healthy Food Access in Central New Jersey 

This project will establish a viable social enterprise that uses value-added production of raw produce to 

link New Jersey farmers with the purpose of creating new markets and living wage jobs in our local food 

economy. As direct-to-consumer fresh produce markets are increasingly saturated in Central New 

Jersey, local farms stand to benefit from being able to develop value-added products as a revenue 

source with the potential to diversify their product line, extend the shelf-life of their products, use 

produce “seconds” that may otherwise go to waste, and connect their operation to the emergency food 

system. Concurrently, not-for-profit Culinary Schools and existing food entrepreneurs benefit from being 

able to prepare their students for careers in value-added entrepreneurship and small-scale food 
manufacturing. Through stimulating local food economies, this project will fill the need of good paying 

jobs and new revenue streams within the food system. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to connect 

farmers and emerging culinarians through the creation of a social enterprise at Elijah’s Promise and 

Promise Culinary School. Drawing on research and pilots conducted during the 2018 Local Food 

Promotion Program Pilot Grant Connecting New Jersey Farmers with a Not-for-Profit Culinary School to 

Develop New Value- Added Food Products: A feasibility Study, underutilized commercial kitchen space 

will render the expected outcome of a viable value-added enterprise that benefits farmers, farmers 

markets, the communities those products are sold, and emerging culinarians.

Recipient: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $371,293.00

Match Amount: $94,216.00

Total Project Amount: $465,509.00

Montclair Community Farms Market Expansion Project 

There has recently been a push to re-establish local organic small grain farming in New Jersey and 

globally in light of nascent demand from changing consumer preferences and renewed focus on locally 

grown crops, sustainability, human and ecological health. In 2018-2019, Ruthie's Farm in Marksboro, 

New Jersey planted, harvested and cleaned their first winter and spring Warthog wheat crops. The 

wheat was trucked to the closest organic mill in Pennsylvania for processing and returned to New Jersey 

for distribution and sale. Despite demonstrating the feasibility of growing and selling local organic 

wheat, farmers remain hesitant to grow organic small grains as the market is emerging and the cost of 

production currently outweighs the value of sales. The goal of this project is to stimulate demand for 

local organic small grains through the sale of value-added products, and as a result strengthen the local 

food system and improve income and economic opportunities for Ruthie’s Farms, other NJ farmers and 

youth entrepreneurs. This project will lead youth through entrepreneurship projects that support the 

marketing, distribution and sale of value-added products (e.g. pizza, pancake mix, and bread) for sale on 

Montclair Community Farms (MCF) Mobile Farm Stand, farmers markets, an online marketplace, and 

Agritourism events. This project builds upon prior work of Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Essex 

County (Rutgers) and the MCF Coalition (MCFC) in distributing food to the Essex County Community.

New Mexico

Recipient: La Semilla Food Center, Anthony, NM

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $493,764.50

Match Amount: $129,750.00

Total Project Amount: $623,514.50

Strengthening the Value Chain in the Paso del Norte Foodshed 

The Paso del Norte Foodshed includes Southern New Mexico and West Texas, with a population of over 

one million people, many of whom live in low-income and low-food access communities. In the last ten 
years the region has seen an increased number of farmers growing food for local consumption as well as 

the establishment of local food hubs. Now, technical challenges are evident in the regional value-chain, 

impeding increasing sales of local products into markets with high demand. Stronger distribution 

networks are needed to support greater market share by food hubs and local growers in the regional 

wholesale and retail market. La Semilla Food Center, in collaboration with key regional partners, will 

address these challenges, strengthening the local value chain through purchasing, supply, and 

infrastructure improvements andefficiencies. This project will increase market access and supply, build 

food hub viability, and increase institution purchases through a coordinated strategy leveraging existing 

assets and infrastructure. Through improved systems for infrastructure use, logistics, transportation, 

and supply chain management platforms, we will increase regional food economy participation by local 

and regional growers and expand access to produce to people of all ages in low-income and low-access 

areas of the Paso del Norte region, including those served by currently untapped institutions. Our 

primary markers of success will be increased food chain resource access and utilization by local food 

producers and food hubs, as well as increased sales at the institution and food hub level.

Recipient: The National Center for Frontier Communities, Silver City, NM

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $323,828.68

Match Amount: $83,488.00

Total Project Amount: $407,316.68

Direct to Consumer Marketing in the Frontier: Sensible, Sustainable Local Food Solutions for Rural 

New Mexicans 

The National Center for Frontier Communities launched an innovative and effective food hub in frontier 

southwest New Mexico in 2018 to connect remote food producers to intermediary markets. While the 

SWNM Food Hub has been successful in helping these growers increase their market reach, it needs to 

broaden its market outlets to provide greater reliability for growers that rely on the hub to expand their 

operations and to reach frontier consumers that currently have zero access to local food markets. This 

project will benefit frontier growers by creating a year-round, aggregated CSA which will provide a large, 

flexible market outlet capable of incorporating produce from new and existing food hub growers. The 

greater reliability of a direct to consumer CSA will allow more growers to plan for increased production 

and sales through the food hub. Additionally, this project will build producer capacity by working one on 

one with at least 25 growers to develop business and food safety plans and provide consultation related 

to planning for increased sales through this new market outlet. This project will help the food hub will 

reach new consumers in remote communities that currently have zero access to local produce and will 

make local food more accessible by allowing for SNAP recipients to purchase local food directly through 

the food hub. Finally, this project will help the food hub move closer to self-sufficiency by increasing 

overall sales by an upwards of $400,000 per year and creating an expansive network of local food 

supporters within the region.
New York

Recipient: Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship, Stamford, NY

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $500,000.00

Match Amount: $125,000.00

Total Project Amount: $625,000.00

Emerging Markets Training Program 

The Center for Agricultural Development & Entrepreneurship (CADE) will establish new markets and 

facilitate economic growth in sustainable agriculture in 12 counties of Central NY. In NY, state and local 

governments are increasing institutional purchasing to serve house-bound, vulnerable populations. 

Many consumers have transitioned to ordering food online for pick-up or home delivery to minimize 

social interaction and reduce the number of hands that touch their food. These crisis- driven emerging 

markets were increasing before the pandemic with mixed successes and barriers to entry for Central NY 

farmers. The Emerging Markets Training Program will leverage CADE’s market research, successes, and 

learnings from the Value Chain Acceleration program, Farm to School program, and Farm and Food 

Business Incubator to build the capacity of local institutions to purchase Central NY farm products, as 

well as assist farmers and local distributors to increase and retain online sales and meet institutional 

purchasing requirements. These activities will reduce marketing costs, increase farm sales and 

profitability, improve farmer readiness for emerging markets and, as a result, foster greater 

collaboration between farmers and local food processors and distributors. The Emerging Markets 

Training Program will provide support for up to 1,500 agribusinesses, resulting in a dynamic and 

transformational impact - a potential $28.8M-$36M in new sales for Central NY farmers - in a region 

long suffering from underemployment and underutilized farm inputs.

Recipient: Cornell Cooperative Extension Essex, Lewis, NY

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $385,921.37

Match Amount: $179,765.97

Total Project Amount: $565,687.34

Expansion of Local Wholesale Revenues in the North Country through Farm to Institution 

Coordination, Food Business Trainings, Increasing Hub Capacity, and Marketing 

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County, in collaboration with regional partners, will increase 

wholesale production and purchasing in the North Country by: helping institutional buyers navigate 

purchasing; supporting farms to reach wholesale production levels and obtain certifications; increasing 

hub capacity; and by developing solid marketing avenues. We will hire a Farm to Institution Educator 

and a Marketing Specialist to implement the above projects, which will lead to 1) increased institutional 

purchasing and a stronger regional economy 2) increased overall production by and revenues for North 

Country farms 3) increased sustainability and output of hub services 4) and increased food access for 

thousands of consumers. This project set addresses several identified needs. While agriculture is the 

only growing economic sector in the North Country region, many farms need support in reaching 
wholesale production levels. Institutional buyers have the potential to source large quantities of local 

food, but we currently lack a Farm to Institution Educator or a solid marketing avenue to facilitate 

connections. While the Hub on the Hill has established delivery routes linking products from various 

farms to buyers across the region, the volume of the deliveries is consistently insufficient to allow for 

sustainable operation. Increased production and purchasing will allow for more profitable delivery 

routes and greater affordability for both buyers and sellers. Finally, supporting school purchasing, 

specifically, is a key goal with the recent 30% initiative offered by NYS, which would provide a 

substantial boost to school district food budgets in order to facilitate more local purchasing.

Recipient: Seven Valleys Health Coalition, Inc., Cortland, NY

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $491,931.19

Match Amount: $122,982.81

Total Project Amount: $614,914.00

Cortland Food Project: Growing Local Food Demand, Capacity and Food Security 

Agriculture is the largest economic force in Cortland County, NY. As demand for local products has 

grown, technical challenges in the value chain have also increased. To meet these changing demands 

and strengthen the local food system, the Cortland Food Project committee (CFP) led by Seven Valleys 

Health Coalition (SVHC) will increase agritourism and marketing efforts through branding of Cortland 

County agricultural products and developing a multimedia toolkit for local producers, increase 

community awareness of how to access locally grown and produced products, and how to utilize them. 

This will be achieved by leveraging and expanding the Cortland County Local Foods Map and Puzzling 

Produce videos through promotional events such as interactive cooking classes (which can pivot from inperson to virtual as needed), transform the map into an interactive online experience, and incorporating 

other digital media to increase awareness and sales of local foods. The project will also capitalize on the 

broad coalition of food systems advocates, local producers, and consumers built through the CFP to 

improve access to local agricultural products by both individual consumers and institutions, such as 

community food pantries, to increase revenue for local farmers and improve community health. This will 

be achieved by increasing farmer capacity through technical assistance to develop better farm to 

institution market with a focus on food pantries, and addressing on-farm food waste while improving 

food security by enhancing value chain links such as needed farm to food pantry cold storage 

infrastructure.
North Carolina

Recipient: Eastern Carolina Organics, LLC, Durham, NC

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $472,000.00

Match Amount: $118,000.00

Total Project Amount: $590,000.00

Building Resiliency and Scale in Local Food Systems through Value Chain Development 

Eastern Carolina Organics, LLC, d/b/a Happy Dirt, is a local food marketing and distribution organization. 

We are a farmer- employee- and woman- owned company that supports family farms while providing 

produce to wholesale accounts. Founded in 2004, Happy Dirt has earned a stellar reputation for its work 

supporting the growth and stability of North Carolina’s produce farmers. By strategically assessing the 

need, and then building and maintaining the critical infrastructure for small and large farms to thrive, we 

have proven that the demand and supply for local, wholesale produce is not just a trend, but an 

industry, and that when the infrastructure is reliable for farmers and buyers, it can be a market force 

with long term economic, environmental, and social impact for rural and urban communities. We now 

need to position the company for greater resiliency and future growth to better serve our existing 

farmers and scale up to support additional farmers in more regions. The goals of our project are to, 

provide opportunities for more local farm products to compete within the national market; catalyze 

more consumer demand for farm-fresh product from family farms; support and train farmers to 

transition from commodity production for global markets into diversified sustainable production for 

regional markets; and build resiliency on the farm and within the regional food system. The proposed 

project activities will increase sales for farmers across the region, expand consumer access to local 

foods, and create an overall more resilient environment across the local foods supply chain.

Recipient: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $496,642.20

Match Amount: $126,920.00

Total Project Amount: $623,562.20

Expanding Markets for Local Food Intermediary Businesses and Farmers 

Unlocking institutional markets for local farmers creates profitable market potential, greater resiliency 

for communities, and opportunities to improve healthy food options. However, institutional local food 

procurement is often limited by contracts, seasonality, and supply chain logistics. Smaller county-based 

institutions, like senior food services, can be more accessible markets and require year-round volumes 

that match well with small and mid-scale farms. In addition, senior food services are often connected to 

local government offices motivated to support the viability of local farmers and food businesses. Food 

councils can inform institutional procurement requirements to catalyze and incentivize efforts to 

support regional economic development and improved healthy food access. This project will address the 

procurement challenges of county-based institutions and implement strategies to encourage sustained 

local food procurement. Our proposed project will (1) create, support, and network county-based teams 
that include Extension agents, food councils, farmers, intermediary food businesses, and institutional 

buyers to explore institutional procurement policy; (2) assess farmer readiness and provide needed 

resources and technical assistance; and (3) provide baseline procurement assessments, supply chain 

apprentices, and regional marketing strategies to create and expand farm-to-institution pathways 

through local food intermediaries. A place-based, multi-stakeholder approach will identify and address 

systemic local food procurement challenges unique to communities, increase availability of local foods 

for senior populations, expand markets for local food intermediaries and farmers, and build working 

relationships across sectors for ongoing collaboration. Three county models will be implemented and 

shared with communities across North Carolina and nationally.

Ohio

Recipient: Appalachian Center for Economic Networks, Athens, OH

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $88,641.75

Match Amount: $22,472.50

Total Project Amount: $111,114.25

Planning to Advance Mobile Meat Slaughter and Processing in Ohio and Central Appalachia 

The Planning to Advance Mobile Meat Slaughter and Processing in Ohio and Central Appalachia Project 

is designed to test the need for an additional local meat value chain intervention that serves livestock 

operators and small processors to access new market opportunities in direct and mid-tier wholesale 

markets. The pandemic has disrupted national and regional meat supply chains. There is a need for 

investment in new systems and processing capabilities that support humane meat production and 

changing consumer tastes. Demand channels for local meat continue to grow, but bottlenecks in the 

local meat value chain, especially demonstrated by the limited processing capacity and on-trend 

marketing of legacy processors, continue to inhibit the market opportunities for livestock farmers in 

Ohio and Central Appalachia. The project work plan is grounded in recent studies: the Ohio Smart 

Agriculture Plan, the Central Ohio Local Food Action Plan, and The Beefing up Appalachia 2018 Study. 

Members of the Ohio Farmers’ Market Network have also verified the need for greater customer access 

to sustainably raised local proteins. Since March, farmers markets have seen exponential demand and 

sales growth for locally produced meat products. The primary activities of the project will be to assess 

the feasibility of mobile meat processing for small-scale family farmers in Ohio and Central Appalachia; 

develop a network of interested producers, processors, and consumers; and create the necessary 

organizational and financial plans for a cooperative mobile meat processing enterprise.
Pennsylvania

Recipient: Philabundance, Philadelphia, PA

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $100,000.00

Match Amount: $48,000.00

Total Project Amount: $148,000.00

Social Impact Market Hall: A Food Business Incubator in the Kensington Neighborhood of 

Philadelphia 

Famed for its textile production, Kensington was once known as the “Workshop of the World.” The 

downturn of manufacturing, however, ushered in a long era of disinvestment and decline, symbolized by 

its current status as a food desert. Lack of access to fresh food is a leading contributor to diabetes in 

Kensington, which ranks last of 46 Philadelphia neighborhoods in terms of poor health outcomes and 

behaviors. In 2016, a new vision emerged to rebuild the social and economic fabric of the community. 

This vision is embodied by a concept for a social impact market hall that will: (1) provide Kensington 

residents with access to fresh food; (2) provide entrepreneurs with opportunities to develop valueadded food enterprises; (3) utilize food to create a destination experience; and (4) scale food companies 

to promote economic development. Led by Philabundance, Philadelphia’s largest hunger relief 

organization, the project team will engage the community in designing a dynamic destination 

experience and production hub that improves access to local food; design a business model that 

supports the startup and scale-up of 10-15 food producers; and develop a blueprint for grand opening of 

the market hall in 18-24 months. Once fully operational, the market hall will support 30 direct jobs and 

$992,000 in wages. Through multiplier effects, the market hall will generate an estimated economic 

impact of 91 jobs and $3,217,254 in earnings.

Rhode Island

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

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $99,955.00

Match Amount: $25,000.00

Total Project Amount: $124,955.00

Planning to Serve the Food Insecure Market: Connecting Rhode Island Farmers and Fishermen 

with Our Emergency Feeding Network 

Unemployment is skyrocketing in Rhode Island, leading to sharp increases in food insecurity and 

extreme strain on our emergency feeding system. Economic projections suggest that this situation is 

likely to continue from one to two years. Unprecedented instability in global and national food markets 

is leading farmers and fishermen to be very cautious in their production and harvesting planning. At the 

same time, local food producers and harvesters are increasingly realizing that serving the emergency 

food system may be a viable market. The need for effective and reliable market links between local food 

producers and harvesters and people in need of emergency and supplemental food has never been 

greater. In the past five years, several pilots connecting Rhode Island local farmers and fishermen with 
our emergency food network have been implemented. As is true in the development of any new market 

channel, these experiments and learnings must be followed by continued coordination and investment 

in cultivating market relationships until they reach a scale and effectiveness that is self-sustaining. This 

project is intended to provide resources and leadership to ensure the continued success of that process. 

Interest in and support for developing these market links is growing, but without the leadership of a 

skilled and committed intermediary, further development will be very slow and erratic. This project will 

result in an implementation plan that benefits small and mid-sized Rhode Island farmers and fishermen 

and serves Rhode Island residents who are in need.

South Carolina

Recipient: South Carolina Seafood Alliance, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $25,500.00

Match Amount: $9,048.00

Total Project Amount: $34,548.00

Strategic Plan for Improving South Carolina Seafood Infrastructure and Operations 

The South Carolina Seafood Alliance (SCSA), a professional association representing seafood industry 

stakeholders across multiple sectors, has a mission of “supporting the state’s seafood industry by 

growing the production of and enhancing demand for South Carolina seafood products.” However, a 

convergence of obstacles over recent years, including regulatory changes, import substitutes, and 

declines in working waterfront sites, have transformed this former stronghold of food security into a 

more stressed and vulnerable industry. For South Carolina seafood producers to become more 

significant providers of regional nutrition and protein, the industry must strategically plan to achieve a 

series of milestones including: upgrades to existing infrastructure; workforce enhancement; the 

identification of new markets and distribution channels; and investments in new operational strategies. 

With these obstacles and opportunities, the industry needs a systematic approach in making progress 

towards these milestones. SCSA intends to (1) identify and prioritize the infrastructure and operational 

needs of the commercial fisheries sector; (2) estimate the costs and benefits of the identified priorities; 

and (3) develop regional-specific strategic plans for achieving the prioritized milestones. The strategic 

plans will serve as a foundation for profitable and sustainable fisheries in South Carolina and will allow 

the industry to pursue financing opportunities. These achievements would ultimately result in improved 

infrastructure, markets, market channels, and operations for a diverse supply of healthy seafood for 

South Carolina residents. A secondary benefactor of this project would be the SCSA, who aims to 

increase their organizational capacity, to better meet the needs of the industry.
South Dakota

Recipient: Rosebud Economic Development Corporation, Mission, SD

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $87,290.82

Match Amount: $21,822.71

Total Project Amount: $109,113.53

Sicangu Local Foods Initiative 

The Sicangu Community Development Corporation (SCDC) will launch the Sicangu Local Foods Initiative 

(SLFI), which seeks to increase access to healthy, local foods through comprehensive strategies that will 

meet the needs of high-poverty residents and tribal farmers and ranchers living on the Rosebud Indian 

Reservation in South Dakota. The Rosebud Indian Reservation is home to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (also 

known as the Sicangu Lakota Oyate) and is a designated food desert with an overall poverty rate of 54 

percent. Through SLFI, we intend to complete a detailed Local Foods Market Opportunity Study that 

explores the viability of aggregating local and regional growers to supply Rosebud institutions with local 

foods. The study will: (1) help to better understand demand and how to shift consumer preferences to 

local foods; (2) create market pathways for tribal producers; and (3) create business plan models for 

different enterprises. The goal of the study will be to identify actionable strategies that the Tribe can 

implement over 1-3 years to increase access to healthy, local foods on the Rosebud Reservation. The 

expected outcome of the SLFI is to increase access to locally produced food among our residents and 

establish new market opportunities for tribal farming operations serving local and regional markets.

Recipient: Tanka Fund, Kyle, SD

Project Type: Planning

Award Amount: $100,000.00

Match Amount: $25,000.00

Total Project Amount: $125,000.00

Pine Ridge Reservation Local Food System: Integration of Buffalo 

Tanka Fund was created to support Native American buffalo ranchers in overcoming the barriers they 

face so that the buffalo can be a vehicle for sustainable community wealth and abundance once again. 

We are also located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, a food desert where people struggle to access 

healthy foods. The buffalo ranchers we work with have limited access to training in creating sustainable 

ranch plans, marketing to increase sales, and accessing certified meat processing units. This has left 

Tribal and extended family buffalo herd projects operating at a financial loss. This, in turn, leads to 

unsound management decisions that negatively impact both the buffalo and the ranchers. Ranchers 

often sell young females and even calves to pay debt because they can get a higher price for these 

animals, thereby undermining the growth of their herd. Ranchers do not want to operate in a cycle of 

financial crisis, but don’t have viable opportunities. Tanka Fund created a solution through a program 

that is designed to break through the challenge of accessing a local food market and providing valueadded products locally that in turn sustain the buffalo rancher businesses. Our goal is to understand and 

add to the local food system and create a strong marketing plan that breaks down these barriers. We 
want to implement a system that provides buffalo ranchers with the ability to sustain their businesses 

through an understanding of the regional market combined with access to a certified processing unit 

and regional marketing opportunities.

Virginia

Recipient: Health Care Without Harm, Reston, VA

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $498,653.00

Match Amount: $151,001.00

Total Project Amount: $649,654.00

The New England Food Processors Collective 

Using a variety of methods, value-added production allows regionally grown foods to be preserved and 

made available year- round, addressing an oft-cited barrier to local procurement. New England is home 

to three nonprofit processing operations that share resources and best practices across a range of 

services and are primed for growth. The New England Food Processors Collective will support more 

formal collaboration across these processors to create efficiencies in sourcing, processing, and 

marketing in order to increase their capacity and help them secure ongoing sales to institutional, retail, 

and wholesale markets. This will yield greater financial stability for the processors, provide reliable sales 

channels for a mix of minimally processed and fully prepared produce throughout the year, and increase 

consumer access to regionally produced foods. The members of the Collective share commitments to 

regional sourcing and to creating jobs with livable wages. The Collective will partner with regional food 

distributors to gain efficiencies in transportation, from farm to processor and processor to buyer. This 

intentional collaboration will increase connections across supply chain entities,strengthening regional 

food system infrastructure– a goal that has become even more paramount in the midst of the COVID-19 

pandemic. With the commitment to local sourcing and paying fair prices to farms and livable wages to 

employees, the Collective supports farm viability and sustainable employment opportunities across New 

England’s farm and food economy.The Collective’s marketing will highlight these supply chain players 

and connections, elevating the visibility of the people, places, and producers behind our food system.

Washington

Recipient: Grow Food, Burlington, WA

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $500,000.00

Match Amount: $125,257.00

Total Project Amount: $625,257.00

Creating a Regional Food System for All: Forging Innovative Community Partnerships to 

Strengthen Small-scale Farms and Increase Food Access in the Puget Sound Region 

Food systems across the United States are at a critical juncture. Family farms struggle to achieve 

profitability, and one in every nine Americans grapples with food insecurity, even though about 20 

billion pounds of food produced annually never make it off the farm. If we do not innovate to ensure 
financial viability for small- and mid-scale family farms and support our vulnerable communities, our 

local and national food economies may not survive the radical shifts that are on the horizon for the 

agricultural sector. Viva Farms is setting a new standard for innovation in the Puget Sound region. Based 

in Western Washington, the organization is committed to creating a resilient regional food system by 

forging innovative community partnerships that meet the needs of historically underserved producers 

and consumers. Rooted in the understanding that resiliency is strengthened by strong partnerships, Viva 

Farms will work with farmers, food banks, food hubs, public schools, and a land grant university to 

establish new local supply chains that maximize profitability for small- and mid-scale family farms, while 

simultaneously presenting data-driven solutions to food insecurity in the Puget Sound region. This 

project will develop new value-added products and markets, establish a formal market channel for 

agricultural seconds, and adopt impactful new approaches to responding to the needs of food insecure 

consumers. The result will be an interconnected local food economy that models farm viability and 

community food security, setting a new trend for food system collaboration.

Recipient: San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild, Friday Harbor, WA

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $224,569.00

Match Amount: $56,889.00

Total Project Amount: $281,458.00

San Juan Islands Food Hub: Coordinating Sales and Distribution of Farm Products in the San Juan 

Islands 

The mission of the San Juan Islands Food Hub (SJIFH) is to increase the production and sales of local food 

in remote San Juan County (SJC), WA, in support of a viable agricultural economy, food security, and 

community access to healthy, sustainably grown food. SJIFH partners have known that wholesaling of 

local farm products in SJC is hindered by gaps in farmer-customer communications, lack of 

infrastructure, and distribution challenges due to the county’s island geography. To address these 

challenges, SJIFH is providing an online marketplace, linked to aggregation sites, and transportation 

among three major islands and to the mainland. SJIFH’s original focus was on wholesaling. With COVID19, however, SJIFH turned to retail sales to provide an outlet for farmers and value-added producers 

who have lost their wholesale accounts. Retail sales to date have exceeded projections by 20 percent, 

and SJIFH is now circling back to the wholesale operation, in anticipation of the restoration of wholesale 

markets post pandemic. This project will cement the long-term sustainability of SJIFH by hiring parttime staff to undertake the core food hub business processes, now done by volunteers, and by adding a 

wholesale marketing coordinator to grow sales. The growth in SJIFH income over the next four years is 

projected to cover the cost of these additional resources after grant funding ends. This project will also 

provide necessary food hub infrastructure and food safety training to producers and staff.
West Virginia

Recipient: Natural Capital Investment Fund, Charles Town, WV

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $456,000.00

Match Amount: $114,000.00

Total Project Amount: $570,000.00

Adapting Value Chain Coordination to Enhance Market Opportunities 

This project applies proven capacity and value chain building strategies that will aid in the economic 

recovery, future growth, and resilience of West Virginia’s local food sector. Natural Capital Investment 

Fund (NCIFund) will spearhead a robust technical assistance and training program focused on helping 

food and farm businesses scale up and make market connections that will lead to financial viability. 

NCIFund is a non-profit business lender and advisor with a commitment to sustainable economic 

development and deep expertise in local foods. West Virginia businesses all along the local food value 

chain face significant barriers to building and growing their enterprises in rural, underserved markets 

and COVID-19 has presented new challenges, but opportunities as well. This 2020 LFPP project provides 

the resources businesses need to overcome obstacles and capitalize on unprecedented consumer 

demand for local foods, such as business planning and financial management assistance. This project will 

also strengthen the local food development ecosystem–needed to catalyze and sustain sector growth–

through strategy development and coordination among supporting organizations. Outcomes will include 

increased sales, profitability and new investments in businesses, and increased employment in the local 

food sector, helping to advance the transition to a more diversified and stronger economy in West 

Virginia.

Recipient: Sprouting Farms Corp., Talcott, WV

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $498,190.70

Match Amount: $124,904.00

Total Project Amount: $623,094.70

Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective: Scaling and Integrating a Statewide Hub-to-Hub Network 

Central Appalachia is redefining our food system and creating real economic opportunities for farm 

businesses by working collaboratively across the value chain and building an agricultural ecosystem. 

Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective was created in 2017, a budding network of nonprofits creating a 

multi-stakeholder food hub in Southern, WV. The project's success has led to a movement across West 

Virginia; new farmers, organizations, and customers want to become part of the network and we must 

expand operations to accommodate growth and scale operations. The current project partners will link 

and expand existing aggregation, sales, and distribution assets to create a statewide “hub-to-hub” 

network. The “hub-to-hub” network will expand the clusters of food hub services, technical training, 

processing, producer outreach and inclusion, and ultimately increase sales. Organizations in West 

Virginia and Maryland will join efforts to coordinate resources, expand markets, integrate producers, 

create efficiency for logistics, and grow market share. To achieve this, the “hub-to-hub” network will: (1) 
establish a statewide sales, aggregation, and distribution operational network through our updated 

twice a week structure; (2) expand production planning; (3) integrate new partners to leverage Turnrow 

brand and assets; and (4) create a revenue sharing model for the partners.

Wisconsin

Recipient: Brix Cider, LLC, Barneveld, WI

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $443,088.00

Match Amount: $163,160.00

Total Project Amount: $606,248.00

The Local Food Community Hub: Advancing a New Model for Resilience 

This project advances Brix Cider as a “local food community hub.” Targeted apple value chain 

investments include sourcing underutilized apples from 15 new farms, expanding cider wholesale 

distribution, and custom cider sales that orchards retail. Targeted food value chain investments include 

featured farmer events that highlight local producers and improving a Community Food Delivery 

program wherein Brix Cider aggregates over 100 products from local producers and delivers the 

products to customers who order online. Collaboration with the University of Wisconsin and Black Krim 

Media leverage research, outreach, educational, and marketing expertise. University-led events will 

engage customers in the local food system, connect them to local farmers, and educate them about 

local food. Black Krim Media will develop story packages through video and social media platforms that 

highlight local farmers and further engage customers in local food systems. The underlying theory of 

change is that a community approach that emphasizes outreach, education, and collaborative marketing 

will drive customer conversion, so they purchase more local food, more often, from more local food 

producers. The project’s value chain investments will generate $2.7 million in measurable sales, while 

the broader education and marketing efforts will drive more robust growth in the local food economy. 

An agile project management plan will ensure that results are achieved, and an evaluation and 

dissemination strategy will provide insights about the broader potential of the local food community 

hub as a model for resilient growth.

Recipient: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, Madison, WI

Project Type: Implementation

Award Amount: $369,809.00

Match Amount: $92,498.00

Total Project Amount: $462,307.00

Building Financial Resilience in Pivoting Food Hubs Through Digital and In-person Financial 

Management Training and National Consultant Interventions 

The business landscape for food hubs is shifting dramatically. While early business models emphasized 

aggregation for farm- to-school and other institutions, many hubs have evolved to focus on higher 

margin lines of business. Others emphasize community food system needs that are best addressed by 

non-profits. COVID-19 has accelerated these transformations as food sales and distribution have 
become inconsistent. Food hubs need to change quickly to reach financial sustainability and they need 

new benchmarks and high-quality, financially oriented, technical assistance to do this. Our previous 

work makes us uniquely positioned to lead this effort. The goal of this project is to mobilize a national 

effort to bring the financial knowledge, skills, and tools that food hub managers and consultants need to 

quickly pivot and build financially resilient hubs. Our objectives are: (1) enhance the national capacity of 

technical assistance providers to help hubs pivot successfully through consultant training 2.0 and 

launching a consultant coaching “mastermind” group; (2) accelerate hub pivots through immersive 

financial resiliency boot camps for 70 hub managers across the country; and (3) enhance the 

effectiveness of the feasibility studies and business plans new and pivoting hubs need by creating a 

digital library of benchmarking reports and training modules. This project will train 170 consultants and 

hub managers, provide consulting to 238 food hubs (20 of which will end with resilient business model 

and financial plans), and reach at least 1100 producers, 150 consultants and 120 food hub managers.