Transportation and Marketing

Micro-Grants for Food Security 

Program

Fiscal Year 2020

Description of Funded Projects 

Number of Grants Awarded: 6 

Amount of Funds Awarded: $4,361,752.80 

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

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

NOTE: The below project descriptions were provided by the grantrecipients.

Alaska Division of Agriculture

Recipient: Alaska Division of Agriculture

Juneau, AK

Project Type: Initiative 

Alaska 2020 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award

Award Amount: $1,938,556.80

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

Letters of Intent (LOI) 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 groups, and e-mailed directly to statewide Cooperative Extension Service (CES) offices. 

In addition, the Division will announce the RFP via a Statewide Media Release, reaching 100 different media outlets and 

posted to the Division Alaska Grown Facebook page with over 57,000 followers. 

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

Facebook pages, does Facebook live presentations on a weekly basis, 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 

communication team to put out press releases, and conduct media events as requested. 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, non-profit organizations, and federally 

funded educational facilities. Therefore, everyone in the State of Alaska who has a project which will meet the requirements 

of the program are eligible to participate.
American Samoa Government Department of Agriculture

Recipient: American Samoa Government Department of 

Agriculture

Tafuna, AS

Project Type: Initiative 

American Samoa 2020 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award

Award Amount: $121,159.80

The USDA Micro Grants for Food Security Program awards grants to eligible agencies, commissions, or departments of 

agriculture 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 food insecure communities in areas of the United States that have

significant levels of food insecurity and import a significant quantity of food. In short this means that ASG DOA will solicit 

applications from the farming community for the competitive distribution of grant awards. The focus of this proposal is to 

support pig farming in American Samoa.

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

compound. DOA holds regular meetings with the farming community to communicate updates, information, and other 

announcements as needed. The program will also be promoted daily via the DOA front office. Additional outreach will be done 

via the local radio station and the DOA Facebook page.

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 presentation (all village 

mayors attend the biweekly OSA meetings for information, updates, etc.); Chamber of Commerce; hardware stores

2) Ongoing: As the program’s performance period is scheduled for 4 years, ASG DOA will advertise and promote the 

program regularly via the front office (fliers, brochures, posters), social media page, and local radio (English & Samoan).

CNMI Division of Agriculture 

Recipient: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

(CNMI) Division of Agriculture

Saipan, MP

Project Type: Initiative 

CNMI 2020 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award

Award Amount: $121,159.80

CNMI DOA will use multiple methods to identify and reach eligible entities. DOA staff will develop a list of local entities that 

meet program requirements 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. The entities are all located in CNMI and are managing farm or agriculture businesses or programs 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 Department of Agriculture

Recipient: Guam Department of Agriculture

Hagatna, GU

Project Type: Initiative 

Guam 2020 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award

Award Amount: $121,159.80

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

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, and press releases to inform them about the MGFSP program grant opportunity. The information will also be posted on 

DOAG’s website. Non-governmental organization (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 Department of Agriculture

Recipient: Hawaii Department of Agriculture

Honolulu, HI 

Project Type: Initiative 

Hawaii 2020 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award

Award Amount: $1,938,556.80

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) will identify eligible entities and conduct outreach via email, phone, and inperson 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 nonprofit organizations relating to agriculture to participate in in the MGFSP. 
USVI Department of Agriculture

Recipient: U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture

Kingshill, VI

Project Type: Initiative 

U.S. Virgin Islands 2020 Micro Grants for Food Security Program Award

Award Amount: $121,159.80

The USVI Department of Agriculture is seeking to fund sub-grants to help develop, support and promote the Agriculture 

industry in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since an extremely high percentage of food eaten in the Territory is imported, this project 

will seek to provide small scale farming support resources such as gardening tools or equipment, soil, soil amendments, 

seeds, plants, canning equipment, refrigeration, or other items necessary to grow and store food. In addition, this project will 

seek to support livestock operations activities such as: purchasing animals, fencing for livestock, and supplies to equip a 

slaughter and processing facility. Finally, in an effort to expand much needed access to food and knowledge of food security,

funds would be utilized to create or expand local avenues to market food, specialty crops, and meat grown for sale in the 

community (including costs for shipping of purchased food production items); in efforts to increase the availability of fresh, 

locally grown nutritious food. 

The MGFSP Grant opportunity and Request for Proposal will be advertised to eligible entities via the Virgin Islands 

Department of Agriculture (VIDA) website https://doa.vi.gov/, social media accounts, farmer email list serv, and the weekly 

VIDA Saturday Morning Fresh From the Farm Radio talk show interviews. Additionally, radio and newspaper advertisements, 

flyers, and press releases will be posted throughout the community and shared directly with community stakeholders to 

ensure the greatest number of eligible entities are reached during the competitive application process.