Virginia’s food system supply chain can use an upgrade or two (or five!) and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) is going to apply for federal funding to enable at least some of them. The federal funds will be dispersed throughout the state via competitive grants.
VDACS wants input from the public to frame the supply chain infrastructure grant program. VDACS is collecting info via an online survey; it will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. The deadline to participate in the survey is 11:59 pm Friday, August 18.
VDACS writes in the survey introduction,
Most of the funding will be distributed as grants to individual farms and food businesses. Grant recipients are required to contribute 50% of the total proposed project cost as a match to federal funding. For historically underserved farmers and ranchers, or for other businesses that qualify under SBA categories of small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business, or veteran-owned small business, the required match funding contribution or cost share is reduced to 25% of the project cost. The RFSI program especially intends to support investments that benefit producers that qualify as disadvantaged.
The department will publish the aggregated findings only. This can help Virginia further develop the state’s food system.
Want to know a bit more about the USDA program?
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will potentially be giving VDACS $6.5 million over four years under USDA’s new Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program. According to the documentResilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program -- Program Scope and Requirements (PDF),
RFSI is intended to serve middle-of-the-supply-chain needs to add value and provide more, new, and better markets for locally or regionally produced food. This program is to support food system crops and products meant for human consumption (excluding meat and poultry products, which are funded through other USDA programs). Ineligible products include: meat and poultry, wild-caught seafood, exclusively animal feed and forage products, fiber, landscaping products, tobacco, or dietary supplements.
More information is available on the USDA’s RFSI program page.