USDA partners with Colo. to award over $3M to strengthen food supply chain infra.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Wednesday announced it has a cooperative agreement with Colorado under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Through this agreement, USDA and Colorado are working together to offer over $3 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. Colorado is accepting applications for this Infrastructure Grant funding through March 7, 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 Colorado 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 Colorado Department of Agriculture will fund projects that increase aggregation and storage options, particularly with cold and dry storage; processing facilities for individual quick freezing, freeze drying, drying, puree, and canning to create accessibility to institutional markets and expansion into consumer markets. The state’s priorities are informed by stakeholder engagement and outreach to underserved producers to better understand their needs.

“The collaboration between federal, state, and local partners is integral to the success of implementing resilient food infrastructure systems. CDA’S Markets division staff has worked diligently to create a meaningful state plan that will boost our regional food system. We are grateful for our partnership with USDA and look forward to launching the Resilient Food System Infrastructure grant to support Coloradans in every part of the state in expanding local processing capacity and adding value to their homegrown products,” said Colorado Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg.

Those interested in receiving a subaward should apply directly through the Colorado Department of Agriculture by March 7, 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 Colorado 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.