Regional Food System Partnerships

 

RFSP is a component of the Local Agricultural Marketing Program (LAMP). RFSP supports partnerships that brings together public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems and encourages food economy viability and resilience. Through RFSP, AMS works together with partners to accelerate local or regional food system growth through increased access to local knowledge and networks. Partners will lead the scope determination of the regional food system to be developed, including goals, outreach objectives, and eligible activities to be carried out, while coordinating with AMS to receive technical and financial assistance.

Active 10.177 Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2020 Funded 23 projects. See https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsp/awards for more information.
Fiscal Year 2021 Funded 23 projects. See https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsp/awards for more information.
Fiscal Year 2022 Funded 23 projects. See https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsp/awards for more information. Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. § 1621 et seq.) as amended under section 10102 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Public Law 115-334, Title Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. § 1621 et seq.), Section 10102, Public Law 115-334, 7 U.S.C. 1621, Statute ,
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 U.S.C. 7 U.S.C. § 1627c
The Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) is authorized by subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. § 1627c), as amended. Additional funds were authorized in 2022 under Section 1001(b)(4) of the American Rescue Plan Act. Applications can be submitted by an eligible entity or eligible partner. An application must have at least one eligible entity and eligible partner to be considered for funding. Eligible entities include producers; producer networks or associations; farmer or rancher cooperatives; majority-controlled producer-based business ventures; food councils; local or Tribal governments; nonprofit corporations; economic development corporations; public benefit corporations; community-supported agriculture networks or associations; and regional farmers' market authorities. Eligible partners include State agencies or regional authorities; philanthropic organizations; private corporations; institution of higher educations; and commercial, Federal, or Farm Credit System lending institutions. Projects and applicants must be owned, operated, and located within the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. Projects that benefit producers, local and regional food business enterprises, and consumers. A grant agreement is entered into between the AMS and the eligible entity that submits the application. OMB Guidance for Grants Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 CFR ? 200 and 2 CFR ? 400 applies to this program. 2 CFR ? 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program. Preapplication coordination is required. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. AMS outlines the merit review process in each grant program's RFA. After the application deadline has passed, AMS begins a three-step process to evaluate each application. Grant agreements are established with applicants based on the results of this three-step process to ensure compliance with requirement that Federal awarding agencies maintain a fair, unbiased merit review process in selecting competitively awarded grants. The Initial Qualification Screening is Step 1. In this step, each application is reviewed for overall completeness, as well as compliance with eligibility and program requirements. Applications that met these basic requirements moved forward to Step 2. Step 2 is the Technical Review. Applications are evaluated by panels of external peer reviewers with selected expertise representing various entities with programmatic knowledge. To eliminate bias, AMS assigns applications to reviewers outside of their own geographic areas and avoid project assignments associated with reviewer businesses. Each reviewer signs a conflict of interest and confidentiality agreement. Reviewers that indicate a real or perceived conflict do not review the affected application(s) and are removed. The peer review panels evaluate their assigned applications using instructions prepared by AMS officials. Individual reviewers score applications and then confer with other panel members. The scoring and discussion serve as the basis for awarding and allocating grant funds and focuses on strengths and weaknesses of each proposal. The third step is the Administrative Review (Step 3). AMS conducts a final administrative evaluation of each application in the review panels' top rankings and recommendations. In addition to the applications' scores, each award is reviewed to ensure that the recommended applications align with the grant program's statutory purpose and that the budget items were allowable and necessary. AMS also assesses the applicants' ability to account for funds used. AMS outlines the application requirements and merit review process in each grant program's RFA. Applicants are required to use the RFA to apply for grant funds. After the application deadline has passed, AMS begins a three-step process to evaluate each application submitted to the grant program and select applications for funding. Grant agreements are established with applicants based on the results of this three-step process to ensure compliance with requirement that Federal awarding agencies maintain a fair, unbiased merit review process in selecting competitively awarded grants. The Initial Qualification Screening is Step 1. In this step, the application is reviewed to ensure that they met the RFA's basic requirements. Applications that met these basic requirements moved forward to Step 2. Step 2 is the Competitive Review. Applications are evaluated by panels of external peer reviewers. Selected reviewers have diverse expertise representing various entities with programmatic knowledge. To eliminate bias, AMS assigns applications to reviewers outside of their own geographic areas and avoid project assignments associated with reviewer businesses. Each reviewer also signs a conflict of interest and confidentiality agreement. Reviewers that indicate a real or perceived conflict do not review the affected application(s) and are removed from those application discussions. The panels analyze each application using the RFA's evaluation criteria and instructions prepared by AMS. Individual reviewers evaluate and score their assigned applications and then confer with their team to derive a consensus review. The consensus review serves as the basis for awarding grant funds and focuses on the applications' strengths and weaknesses. The third step is the Administrative Review (Step 3). AMS conducts a final administrative evaluation of each application in the review panels' top rankings and recommendations. In addition to the applications' scores, each award is reviewed to ensure that the recommended applications align with the grant program's statutory purpose and that the budget items were allowable and necessary. AMS also assesses the applicants' ability to account for the use of Federal funds and monitor the performance associated with these monies. Non-competitive grant programs implemented by AMS are limited to Step 3 in the application review process. Go to https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants or contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines. From 120 to 180 days. Eligible applicants should contact the headquarters office for application deadlines. Annual application deadlines are posted in Grants.gov. More information can be found at www.ams.usda.gov/grants. Not applicable. Not applicable. Criteria for selecting proposals are within guidelines established for the program as described in the RFA. The most current RFA is available via Grants.gov or www.ams.usda.gov/grants. Funds may be used to plan and develop local or regional food systems and encourages food economy viability and resilience. Performance Reports: Annual performance and financial reports are required. A final performance and financial report are required within 120 days after the expiration date of the grant period. See www.ams.usda.gov/grants for more information In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR ? 200.503 For each year that a State receives a grant under this section, the State shall conduct an audit of the expenditures of grant funds by the State in accordance with 2 CFR ? 200, Subpart F- Audit Requirements. This program is also subject to audit by the cognizant Federal audit agency and the USDA Office of Inspector General. Recipients must retain financial and other records relating to grant for a period of three years after the final Federal Financial Report (SF-425) is received by AMS or until final resolution of any audit findings or litigation claims relating to this program. Statutory Formula: Part See Request for Applications

Matching is mandatory. 25%. A 25% cash match is required of the total Federal portion of the grant. See RFA for more information.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Applicants have 3 calendar years to use the funds. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: See www.ams.usda.gov/grants for grant agreement award terms and conditions to obtain information on how assistance is awarded/released. USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Room 1510 South Building Washington, DC 20250-0264 USDA Regional Food Systems Parterships
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250 USA
IPPGrants@usda.gov
Phone: 2026901300 https://www.ams.usda.gov/rfsp 12-0408-1-2-605 (Project Grants) FY 22$4,461,635.00; FY 23 Estimate Not Available FY 24 est $4,852,413.00; FY 21$5,000,000.00; - Farm Bill Funding(Project Grants) FY 22$0.00; FY 23 est $0.00; FY 24 FY 21$10,300,000.00; - H.R- 133 Stimulus Funding(Project Grants) FY 22$0.00; FY 23 est $51,500,000.00; FY 24 FY 21$0.00; - American Rescue Plan Funding Planning & Design $100,000-$250,000 and Implementation & Expansion projects $250,000-$1,000,000 and Farm to Institution projects $250,000-$1,000,000. Please see RFA for full details. An RFA is announced each fiscal year via www.grants.gov. Additional information about this program is available at www.ams.usda.gov/grants. Fiscal Year 2020 Please see https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsp/awards