Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2024 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it has a cooperative agreement with Maryland under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Through this agreement, USDA and Maryland are working together to offer over $3.6 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. Maryland is accepting applications for this Infrastructure Grant funding through March 15, 2024.
In May 2023, USDA announced the availability of up to $420 million through RFSI to strengthen local and regional food systems. Through this program, AMS has entered into cooperative agreements with state agencies, commissions, or departments responsible for agriculture, commercial food processing, seafood, or food system and distribution activities or commerce activities in states or U.S. territories. RFSI is authorized by the American Rescue Plan. Updates for each state’s Request for Applications for the RFSI program are available on the AMS website.
“This partnership between USDA and Maryland is allowing critical funding to reach areas of the supply chain that need it most,” said USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt. “The projects funded through this program will create new opportunities for the region’s small and midsize producers to thrive, expand access to nutritious food options, and increase supply chain resiliency.”
Using RFSI funding, the Maryland Department of Agriculture will build resilience across the middle-of-the-food-supply-chain by developing new market opportunities and expanding capacity for Maryland’s producers and processors. Funded projects will focus on areas such as improving cold storage equipment; expanding the capacity for processing, aggregation, and distribution; supporting construction of new facilities; improving operations through employee training; and modernizing manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems. The state’s priorities are informed by stakeholder engagement and outreach to underserved producers to better understand their needs.
“We are pleased to partner with USDA to offer grants in such a critical space,” said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks. “The department is aware that many farms and aquaculture operations are in need of this kind of support and we look forward to the projects that will come from this.”
Those interested in receiving a subaward should apply directly through the Maryland Department of Agriculture by March 15, 2024. AMS encourages applications that serve smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers, and underserved communities.
Through the program and in addition to the Infrastructure Grant funding, the Maryland Department of Agriculture will support supply chain coordination and technical assistance to farmers and food businesses operating in processing, aggregation and distribution—all critical activities to support access to more and better markets for farmers.
For more information, visit the AMS Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure webpage.
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