Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production News

Opportunities

The USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production’s (OUAIP) Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grant applications are due in Grants.gov by March 27, 2023. Proposals can range from increasing food production and access in economically distressed communities, providing job training and education, supporting innovative production, and more.

OUAIP’s Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) funding opportunity is coming soon! Support your community in the effort to reduce food loss and waste. Sign-up for email updates to stay informed of the next application period.

Farm Service Agency’s Farm Storage Facility Loan Program applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and are open for operations of all sizes, including urban and small-scale producers. Obtain low-interest financing to help build or upgrade storage facilities and purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment and storage and handling trucks. For more information, contact your USDA Service Center.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia offers additional opportunities to address food loss and waste. The opportunity is open in Grants.gov until April 4, 2023.

Urban and innovative producers may be interested in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s ongoing  Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program. The program helps communities access low-cost, long-term financing for economic and community development projects, including new grocery stores and other healthy food retail development in local food deserts. Entities interested applying for the program and increasing food access in their communities should contact the HUD Section 108 Program Office at section108@hud.gov. 

Did you know there are resources available for grant and business writing? Learn more:

• Rural Workforce Innovation Network Workshops
• 20 Tips for Grant Writing Success
• SCORE Mentoring Program

Pro tip: maintain an active account on the System for Award Management (SAM) and register on Grants.gov to make the most of current funding opportunities!

People’s Garden

Join the People’s Garden movement of over 1,200 gardens today by registering at usda.gov/peoples-garden. Interested in learning what other gardens are up to? Check out our featured garden this month.

Greater Lansing Food Bank’s Garden Project supports almost 100 community gardens (covering nearly 30 acres of growing space!) and over 500, income-eligible home gardeners within a 7-county region in mid-Michigan. For 40 years, Garden Project has helped gardeners, at any stage and in any circumstance, grow their own food. Garden Project provides access to land, how-to education, free seeds, vegetable transplants and tool lending, so all community members can have access to fresh healthy food through gardening opportunities. Learn more about Garden Project’s work on their website and also by following the Facebook and Instagram pages.

Highlights from USDA

• The Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Advisory Committee met on February 23 and the public was invited to submit comments for consideration. Upcoming meetings and opportunities for input are posted on OUAIP’s advisory committee website.
• Thanks to all that stopped by the Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production booth at Ag Outlook 2023! Stay connected and follow us on Twitter @FarmersGov!

• The USDA Farmers Market vendor application is now open and urban and innovative producers in the region are encouraged to apply. Submit an application today and sell your products to those who work, live, and visit the Nation’s Capital.
• USDA provides local support for beginning farmers and ranchers including urban and innovative producers. The first 10 years of a farming or ranching operation are tough and the USDA has coordinators to help.
• The Houston Independent School District (HISD) hosted the Food Nutrition and Consumer Service’s Deputy Undersecretary in a roundtable discussion with child nutrition, urban agriculture, and farm to school stakeholders. This is a great example of farm to school and urban agriculture programs supporting nutrition security in action!  

In Case You Missed It

• Interested in creating a community garden in a vacant area? Check-out the EPA’s Know Before You Grow guide which helps communities identify the steps needed to grow gardens safely. EPA’s technical assistance is also available to identify brownfields and minimize the uncertainties of contamination.

• Composting and food waste reduction practitioners may be interested in listening to USAID’s Kitchen Sink: A Food Loss and Waste Podcast.
• Here are a couple of great resources from the Food Nutrition Service (FNS) and their Farm to School recipient focused on growing school gardens and helping children understand where their food comes from:
  • Seeds of Success Toolkit
  • Discover MyPlate: Nutrition Education for Kindergarten
• Stay in touch and sign-up for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production and other USDA newsletters.

What We’re Reading

OUAIP staff picks for the month:

• The Promise of Urban Agriculture: National Study of Commercial Farming in Urban Areas
• Quantifying the stormwater runoff volume reduction benefits of urban street tree canopy
• Post-Event Report: Wasted Food and Sustainable Urban Systems: Prioritizing Research Needs
• Barriers are high for Black farmers, even in majority-Black Pr. George's - The Washington Post
• N. Climate Conference (COP27) actions to support vulnerable countries in building resilience to climate impacts:
  • President Biden’s Leadership to Tackle the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
  • USAID PREPARE Action Plan
  • Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate