Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production News

Opportunities

• USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Composting and Food Waste Reduction Cooperative Agreements: applications due in Grants.gov on June 15, 2023.
• Rural Development Value-Added Producer Grant Program: is open: paper applications due May 16, 2023, electronic applications due May 11, 2023.
• National Institute of Food and Agriculture Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program: applications due April 27, 2023.
• Natural Resources Conservation Service Equity in Conservation Outreach: applications due April 27, 2023.
• Agricultural Marketing Service offers the following opportunities through the Local Agriculture Market Program: applications due May 2, 2023.
  • Farmers Market Promotion Program
  • Local Food Promotion Program
  • Regional Food System Partnerships
• Environmental Protection Agency opportunities:
  • Climate Pollution Reduction Grants: applications due April 28, 2023.
  • Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental Justice in Communities: applications due June 6, 2023.
  • Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products: applications due June 20, 2023.

Highlights from USDA

• Urban Producers, Public Invited to Attend April Meeting of Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on April 18, 2023 at 3 p.m. ET. Register to attend .
• Interested in learning more about Farm Service Agency loan programs? Check-out FSA Loans: The Ins and Outs of Growing a Farm with Federal Loans.
• National Institute of Food and Agriculture Invests $9.4M in Urban, Indoor, and other Emerging Agricultural Production Research, Education and Extension Initiative.
• The Food Nutrition Service’s Selling Local Food to Schools: A Resource for Producers provides helpful information for opportunities to help nourish children in your community.
• This month, the USDA Economic Research Service released the Rural Food-Away-from-Home (FAFH) Landscape, 1990-2019 report which examines U.S. nonmetropolitan counties and the trends and differentiating features in FAFH access.
• “Everybody I've worked with at NRCS has been extremely helpful, this has really been a game changer for me,” Learn more about Brandon Gerard’s story at Fridays on the Farm: Growing Abundance in Spokane. 

People’s Garden

Join the People’s Garden community of over 1,200 gardens by registering at usda.gov/peoples-garden. In joining the network, your garden will be highlighted on the People’s Garden website and provided a sign to display in the garden. By joining the People’s Garden network, you will be granted access to the People’s Garden Connect subgroup, a platform to share resources and ideas with gardens across the country.

Attend the inaugural People’s Garden Webinar on April 26 at 3 p.m. ET. The webinar kicks off National Garden Month with a special message from Mrs. Christie Vilsack, and includes presentations about our country’s rich gardening history and success stories from the Food and Nutrition Service Farm to School grantees. (Register for the webinar here).

Interested in learning what other gardens are up to? Check out our featured gardens this month.

Natural Resources Conservation Service and Seeds of Faith Collective

Natural Resources Conservation Service in Texas and Seeds of Faith Collective celebrated the groundbreaking of a new People’s Garden at Greater Garth Chapel A.M.E in Dallas, Texas.  In an open space behind the chapel, Grow North Texas Executive Director Susie Marshall and garden steward Candace Thompson maintain a food garden that has been successful in growing vegetables for the community. There are opportunities for community collaboration through volunteering and upcoming educational workshops. The garden is also working with the Xerces Society to implement pollinator plantings.  The Seeds of Faith Collective People’s Garden offers a local gathering place in Dallas for the community to visit, enjoy, and learn about sustainable food production.

Montgomery Subaru

Montgomery Subaru considers themselves to be more than just a car dealership with their community garden project. Since it was established in 2015, they have more than tripled its size and created a "Garden Share" for two special Montgomery area non-profits, Friendship Mission and Montgomery Area Council on Aging. They are fortunate to have a long growing season in Alabama and leverage that to provide nutrient-dense produce to people in need in their area. 

What We’re Reading

OUAIP staff picks for the month:

• ‘A living pantry’: how an urban food forest in Arizona became a model for climate action
• The little-known physical and mental health benefits of urban trees
• Comparative Analysis of Zoning of Food Retail and Urban Agriculture for Richmond, Virginia (vcu.edu)
• ChangeLab Solutions Legal & Policy Strategies for Health Care & Food System Partners

In Case You Missed It

• March was National Nutrition Month! This year’s theme was “Fuel for the Future,” encouraging everyone to eat healthy at all life stages. Check out Nutrition.gov and their Nutrition by Life Stage page for more info.
• Healthy Food Policy Project identifies and elevates local laws that seek to promote access to healthy food while also contributing to strong local economies, an improved environment, and health equity, with a focus on socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups.
• Celebrate Food Waste Prevention Week April 10-16! This message from 1914 still rings true today: