Pandemic Response and Safety
Grant Program
The Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant Program provides funding to help small specialty crop producers, food processors, manufacturers, distributors and farmers markets recover costs incurred by responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including for measures to protect workers. This program is authorized and funded under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116—260). The minimum funding request amount is $1,500. The maximum funding request amount is $20,000. No cost sharing or matching funds are required. Grants will cover activities associated with:
- Workplace Safety: Implementing workplace safety measures to protect against COVID-19
- Market Pivots: Implementing market pivots to protect against COVID–19
- Retrofitting Facilities: Retrofitting facilities for worker and consumer safety to protect against COVID–19
- Transportation: Providing additional transportation options to maintain social distancing and worker and consumer safety to protect against COVID-19
- Worker Housing: Providing worker housing that protects against COVID-19
- Medical: Providing health services to protect workers against COVID-19
Important Dates:
- Check your eligibility and request a DUNS number now.
- Application Period Opens: September 23, 2021
- Application Period Closes: 11:59 PM Eastern Time on November 8, 2021
 Through the Local Food Systems Response to COVID project, AMS partnered with the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN) to develop a new resource outlining considerations for starting a new meat plant. A resilient food system requires a diverse group of meat processors when it comes to scale, services provided, and location. The pandemic has stretched small and mid-sized slaughterhouses and meat processors thin. Demand has outpaced supply in many places. The bottlenecks in parts of this system have encouraged many entrepreneurs and livestock producers to consider opening new meat processing facilities.
NMPAN’s website has a variety resources about what it takes to plan, design, and construct a meat processing facility, as well as how to run it efficiently and profitably. Those resources are summarized in this new brief along with advice from new meat plant operators.
 AMS worked with a team of researchers and practitioners led by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to develop a database of food systems core competencies and educational resources. The database went live July 15, 2021. Anyone engaged or interested in food systems can add their profile and use the database to learn about educational resources and practitioners in their area. For example, a search for “equity” might show both trainings and curricula and local practitioners with equity expertise to connect with directly.
The 2019 National Farmers Market Manager Survey was conducted by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). NASS conducted the survey in the spring of 2020 using 2019 as a reference year. The survey estimated that 8,140 farmers markets were in operation in the lower 48 states. The survey shares general information about market organizational characteristics, agricultural business support activities and market development activities.
Each month, we’re highlighting the work of Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion grant recipients.
Health Care Without Harm
Using a Local Food Promotion Program grant, Health Care Without Harm developed a seasonal harvest program called Nourished by New England to connect producers with health care facilities. The organization provided technical assistance to producers and developed promotional and educational materials for the hospitals to use. During the grant period:
- Each of the 20 participating food and farm businesses increased annual sales by an average of $126,000 during the project.
- Forty-two health care facilities participated in Nourished by New England, collectively spending $567,683 on food items offered for sale through the seasonal harvest program. These hospitals spent an additional two million dollars on local food from producers with existing contracts with the hospitals.
Sustainable Food Center
 Sustainable Food Center (SFC), a nonprofit based in Austin, TX, turned to a Local Food Promotion Program grant to fund a feasibility study for a central Texas food hub. A food hub would address the need for a central aggregation and distribution hub for local producers seeking access to new or expanded market opportunities in the Austin metro area. After several focus groups, surveys, and interviews, the project team concluded that a new brick and mortar food hub facility was not needed and prescribed a set of recommended actions to strengthen existing aggregation and distribution of locally grown produce. While the food hub did not come to fruition, this planning grant saved the community time and money as it was able to pivot to more impactful activities.
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