Building resilience across the middle of Michigan’s food supply chain is the goal of a recently announced USDA Agricultural Marketing Service $8 million grant.

In a cooperative agreement with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, MDARD 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.

MDARD is accepting applications for RFSI grant funding through June 17. Nationally, USDA announced the availability of up to $420 million through RFSI to strengthen local and regional food systems.

“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,” said Jenny Lester Moffit, USDA marketing and regulatory programs undersecretary.

Using RFSI funding, MDARD will fund projects supporting expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products — including specialty crops, dairy products, grains for human consumption, aquaculture and other food products, excluding meat and poultry.

Working with stakeholders, MDARD has identified the below program priorities within Michigan. The review panel will evaluate projects based on the following criteria and priority areas.

Projects that will:

Projects that benefit:

Projects that enhance:

Project goals that prioritize the following markets:

Those interested in receiving a subaward should apply directly through MDARD’s MiAgGrants Grants Management System by June 17. 

For more information, visit the USDA-AMS Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure webpage.

Source: MDARD