DOVER, DE — The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) is looking to fortify the state’s food supply chain, announcing the availability of over $1.7 million in competitive grant funding through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). The DDA is accepting applications for these grants until April 30, 2024.
The RFSI program, funded by Section 1001(b)(4) of the Federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, aims to bolster the resilience of Delaware’s mid-supply chain. It focuses on enhancing the capacity for aggregating, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distributing locally and regionally produced food products. These include specialty crops, dairy, grain for human consumption, aquaculture, and other food products.
However, the funding will not support projects involving meat and poultry, fiber, wild-caught seafood, exclusively animal feed and forage products, fiber, landscaping products, tobacco, and dietary supplements.
Two types of grants are available under the RFSI program. Simplified Equipment-Only Projects offers smaller grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, intended for equipment purchases alone. On the other hand, Infrastructure Grants require applicants to match 50% of the proposed project cost, with a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $1,156,597 available for infrastructure projects and activities.
Delaware is particularly interested in projects that provide technical assistance to producers developing value-added products, expand access to climate-smart technologies for farmers, manage food waste, and increase the number of facilities that support product aggregation, cold storage, warehousing, and distribution of targeted agricultural products.
Eligible applicants include agricultural producers or processors, nonprofit organizations, for-profit entities, local government entities, and tribal governments operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities. Institutions such as schools, universities, or hospitals that bring producers together to establish cooperative or shared infrastructure may also apply.
To further assist prospective applicants, the DDA will host an informational webinar about the RFSI grant program at 10 a.m. on March 21, 2024. Additionally, RFSI virtual office hours are scheduled for April 4 and April 18 at 10 a.m., allowing interested parties to connect directly with the Delaware Department of Agriculture on the grant process.
This noteworthy initiative represents a significant investment in Delaware’s food supply chain, positioning it for a more sustainable and resilient future.
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