Call for Grant Programs Peer Reviewers
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking subject matter experts to serve as peer reviewers to evaluate grant applications for the Fiscal Year 2024 grant cycle. AMS grant peer reviews bring together diverse individuals who provide fair, expert, and unbiased evaluations of grant applications. Reviewing applications will take approximately 6 weeks and non-federal reviewers will be compensated for their reviews.
Current Programs Seeking Peer Reviewers:
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2022 Agricultural Census Data Released
Data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture is now available! All Census of Agriculture data can be accessed using the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s searchable database, Quick Stats. The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The Census of Agriculture, taken once every five years, looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income, and expenditures.
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New Case Study on States’ Uses of Pandemic Funds
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A recent addition to the Resilience Playbook highlights how states used pandemic funding to support local and regional food systems. The Innovation Brief reviews data from a voluntary survey and combines results with program information collected from multiple state interviews and news articles. |
Consumer Food Insights Series 3.0 Webinar
On April 25 at noon ET, AMS and Colorado State University are hosting a webinar highlighting the Consumer Food Insights Series 3.0! In this webinar, the project team will present new findings from their third nationwide survey of food purchasing and consumer behavior since the COVID-19 pandemic, covering changes through Fall 2023. These findings are intended to help guide local and regional food systems businesses, policy makers, and community organizations.
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2024 Local Food Economics Data Visualization Challenge
Sponsored by AMS and co-organized with the Graduate Student Section (GSS) of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), this competition will challenge graduate student teams of three from around the U.S. to develop a novel data visualization and analysis that responds to competition prompts using the Local Food Data Warehouse, FAME tools, and other relevant data sources. This year's competition will have a focus on the new Regional Food Business Centers to provide analysis relevant to the Centers’ geographic regions. To apply, please complete the application form by Sunday, April 28
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Each month, we highlight the work of Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion grant recipients.
The Food Group Minnesota
The Food Group Minnesota began as the Hennepin County Emergency Food Shelves in 1976, and in 1999 launched a Mobile Food Shelf program and spent the next two decades expanding its mission. In 2018, the group received a USDA Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grant to increase access to a variety of local products and ensure that they are affordable and available year-round. This funding supported the Food Group Minnesota’s discount grocery program, Fare For All, which brings wholesale prices to families throughout the state. As a result of the LFPP, Fare For All has reached 23,334 individual customers; included 43 local farmers, ranchers, and producers to provide a wide variety of products to customers; and 100% of participating producers reported an increase in revenue.
May
Local Agriculture Market Program Grants:
Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP): Promotes direct producer-to-consumer marketing to increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on marketing activities such as farmers markets or community-supported agriculture and developing marketing strategies for producers of local and value-added products.
Application Deadline: May 14
Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP): Develops and coordinates local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing. The program focuses on supporting the processing, distribution, and storage of food products; and assisting with business development plans.
Application Deadline: May 14
Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP): Supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. Examples of project activities for partnerships include, but are not limited to, convening partners to define the regional food system scope and structure, conducting research on specific markets or investments, or developing processes for ongoing community and business engagement.
Application Deadline: May 14
LAMP Resources:
Local Agriculture Market Program Stakeholder Toolkit
Webinars
Technical Assistance Materials for Applicants
Office Hours for Applicants:
The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (NIFA): This program, also known as GusNIP, brings together stakeholders from distinct parts of the food system to foster understanding of how they might leverage federal nutrition assistance programs to improve the health and nutrition status of participants. Currently, GusNIP aims to fund and evaluate projects intended to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by USDA SNAP participants.
Application Deadline: May 14
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