Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production News

The newsletter is brought to you by the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production 

Opportunities

• Farm to School Grants help connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for school meals. Application deadline: Jan. 12, 2024.
• Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is open to producers who experienced discrimination from USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. Filing an application is FREE and does not require a lawyer. Application deadline: Jan. 13, 2024. 
• EPA's 2024 President’s Environmental Youth Awards and 2024 Presidential Innovation Awards for Environmental Educators is open for nominees. Application deadline: Jan. 15, 2024.
• Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program e-Solution Grants are open to State agencies, Indian Tribal Organizations and territories, or multi-state agency collaborations. Application deadline: Jan. 23, 2024.
• School Food System Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants has two open opportunities: Supporting Community Agriculture & Local Education Systems, Application deadline: Jan. 26, 2024; and the Chef Ann Foundation’s Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools Sub-Grants, Application deadline: Jan. 22, 2024.
• Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program, assists producers who incurred on-farm food safety program expenses related to obtaining or renewing a food safety certification in calendar years 2023. Application deadline: Jan. 31, 2024.
• Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Whole-Farm Revenue Protection provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one policy. Sales closing date: Jan. 31, 2024.
• RMA’s Micro Farm Program provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on a farm under one insurance policy. This insurance plan is tailored for any farm with up to $350,000 in approved revenue. Sales closing date: Feb. 28, 2024.
• USDA Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry 2024 Challenge Cost Share Grant Program. Application deadline: Feb. 29, 2024.
• EPA’s Community Change Grants Program has announced $2 billion dollars in Inflation Reduction Act funds for environmental and climate justice activities. Technical assistance to prepare a grant application is available. Application deadline: Nov. 21, 2024.
• Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants fund renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements for agricultural producers and rural small businesses. Multiple deadlines.

Federal Funding Tip: Interested in applying for future Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production funding or other Federal opportunities? Eligible applicants for Federal grant and cooperative agreement opportunities may require an active Sam.gov and Grants.gov registration to apply. Register in these systems now so you are ready when the opportunities are open.

USDA Highlights

• Can I Grow Here? USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) is partnering with the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate Schoolto develop resources that help growers understand and work through local policies.
• USDA is now accepting applications for farm loans online. Learn which loan is right for you using the Farm Loan Assistance Tool.
• The Veterans Business Outreach Center of New England, in partnership with the USDA, invite veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses to Boots to Business Reboot for Veteran Beginning Farmers and Ranchers on Jan. 22, 2024; 10 am – 5 pm EST. Space is limited, please register early.  
• The Regional Food Business Centers are beginning to operate and several have websites up and running. The centers are in the early stages of planning their programming, technical assistance, and capacity building activities. Their websites offer an overview of their planned work and current partners.

People’s Garden Initiative

Area 2 Farms, a People’s Garden located in Arlington, VA is an indoor, organic, soil-based farm. Learn more about their innovative operation and engagement with USDA.

• The new Plant Hardiness Zone Map is now available, updating a valuable tool for gardeners and growers to determine which plants are more likely to thrive at a location.
• On Jan.15, 2024, consider spending Martin Luther King Jr. Day volunteering in your community to provide access to fresh, local food. Find a People’s Garden near you. Interested in joining the network? Register your public garden and connect with fellow community gardens from across the country.

In Case You Missed It

• The Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics is released. EPA, USDA, and FDA request public comments on the draft strategy by Jan. 4, 2024. Submit your comments through the Federal Registeror gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0415.
• People from across the world attended COP28 from Nov. 30 – Dec. 12, where over 130 countries sign COP28 pledge to integrate food into climate action.

What We’re Reading