Grant Opportunities for Food System Organizations and Businesses

Grant Opportunities for Food Assistance & Non-profit Partners

• Together for CHANGE funding opportunity: This year, the AstraZeneca Foundation launched Together for CHANGE (Changing Health Access for Next Generation Equity), a new signature program that aims to advance health equity and improve access to quality healthcare for people experiencing disadvantages due to their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and more.  Beginning on May 10, 2023, the Foundation will begin accepting grant requests of $200,000 – $250,000 for review and consideration in its inaugural year. Recipient Grant Awardees may also be considered for renewed funding on an annual basis for two additional years, contingent upon meeting objectives, funding availability, and approval by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

  EPA Region 3 Grants for Sustainable Materials Management: Includes development or enhancement of municipal recycling and composting/anaerobic digestion programs. Applications must seek to improve the ability of communities to make progress towards the National Recycling Goal or the U.S. 2030 Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal and directly benefit at least one of the EPA Region 3 states and/or D.C. Applications are due July 14, 2023. Details here: EPA-R3-LCRD-23-09.

• USDA Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Cooperative Agreements –  CFWR applications are now open. Awards will be funded up to $400k for development, planning, and implementation of municipal compost and food waste reduction plans. See past examples. Deadline: June 15, 2023

• Danone Institute North America Sustainable Food Systems Initiative: This biennial competitive grant is now accepting submissions from eligible applicants in the U.S. and Canada. The 2023-2025 initiative commits a total of US$260,000 in funding, its largest contribution yet, for up to five transdisciplinary teams who demonstrate a commitment to actionable and achievable projects that sit at the intersection of community, health of people and health of planet. Learn more here.

• Montgomery County Government has two active grant programs open, targeted at nonprofit organizations:
  • The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Grants Management are soliciting grant applications for the County’s FY 2023 Strengthening Support to Migrant and Asylum-Seeking Residents (SSMASR) Grant Program from qualified small and emerging nonprofit organizations (annual budget within $250,000-$500,000) providing direct service delivery to new migrant and asylum-seeking populations in the County.
    • Click here to download the full FY23 SSMASR Grant Program Details document in .pdf format.
    • Applications for the grant will be closing on May 22, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.
  • The Montgomery County Office of Food Systems Resilience and the Office of Grants Management are soliciting grant applications for the County’s FY23 Resident and Community Food Gardening Grant Program from qualified nonprofit organizations in Montgomery County that expand resident and community food production capacity through community and home farming and gardening, as a means of increasing local food security.
    • Click here to download the full FY23 Community Gardening Grant Program Details document in .pdf format.
    • Applications for the grant will be closing on May 24, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

• The Montgomery County Business Center has one active grant program open, targeted at for-profit businesses:
  • Montgomery County, in partnership with the Maryland Department of Commerce, is providing grants to local businesses negatively impacted through revenue loss by the construction of the Purple Line Rail Project.
  • Purple Line Light Rail Project Phase II Grant Application: https://apps2.montgomerycountymd.gov/purpleline/PurpleLineGrantIntake.aspx
  • Applications for the grant will be accepted starting on April 1st, 2023 and closing on May 31st, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.
  • Information on County business grants and eligibility can be found by visiting http://Montgomerycountymd.gov/business or by emailing businesscenter@montgomerycountymd.gov.

• Traulsen & Hobart Save Your Kitchen Campaign: Traulsen proudly announces the eighth iteration of its Save Your Kitchen Campaign. The sweepstakes are open to K-12 nutrition professionals in the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The entry deadline for the 2nd sweepstakes of the year is May 5th. To enter the sweepstakes and for other information, click here.

• Grant Relief for On-Boarding Workers (GROW): The past few months WorkSource Montgomery (WSM) plans to award another $1 Million dollars over the next year until funds are exhausted. The GROW COVID-19 financial assistance is intended for both for-profit and not-for-profit business entities, negatively impacted by the pandemic, including but not limited to, hospitality (hotel and food service), transportation, retail, travel, cosmetology, dependent care, and other industries with front-line workers, and particularly for small & minority-owned businesses. For more information or to apply, CLICK HERE. For specific questions about the GROW program, contact Cynthia Grissom at cgrissom@worksourcemontgomery.com

• ALDI Smart Kids Fund: ALDI Smart Kids partners with organizations that make a positive impact on kids’ health and well-being, food insecurity and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. So whether your mission is to support kids through education, arts, athletics or any other program that inspires them to be active and healthy, we say kudos to you and encourage you to apply for support from the ALDI Smart Kids program. Please visit the website for more information on eligibility and timeline.

• The W. K. Kellogg Foundation: Accepts healthy kids and community/civic engagement grant applications throughout the year with no submission deadline.

• Nonprofit, Interest Free, Micro Bridge Loan Account (NIMBL): This interest-free, micro bridge loan program and fund supports the operations of nonprofit entities. The program is administered by the Maryland Nonprofit Development Center and the Maryland Department of Commerce.
  • • The program provides short-term financing support to qualifying nonprofit entities between the award date of a government contract and the actual receipt date of those awarded funds. 
    • Application accepted on a rolling, first-come, first-served basis.

Grant Opportunities for Food Businesses & Farms:

• The USDA Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program application is open until early May.
  VAPG helps agricultural producers enter value-added activities to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities, and increase producer income. More information: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/value-added-producer-grants
• MARBIDCO also just opened the Maryland Livestock Processing Equipment Grant Program to help assist with the expansion of livestock processing capacity in Maryland. The program has a particular focus on large-animal and blue catfish processing. Smaller scale poultry processing projects may be eligible. Application deadline is June 1, 2023. More information: http://www.marbidco.org/_pages/programs_grants/grant_programs_mlpeg.htm
• Applications for USDA Cooperative Agreements for Compost and Food Waste Reduction are open and will be accepted until June 15, 2023. More information: https://www.usda.gov/topics/urban/coop-agreements
• The Brighter Future Fund was launched in 2020 to assist farmers in successfully launching, growing, and sustaining farms in the face of forces impacting the food and agricultural system, including the COVID-19 pandemic, changing markets, severe weather, and climate change. Click here for more information.
• Grant Relief for On-Boarding Workers (GROW): The past few months WorkSource Montgomery (WSM) plans to award another $1 Million dollars over the next year until funds are exhausted. The GROW COVID-19 financial assistance is intended for both for-profit and not-for-profit business entities, negatively impacted by the pandemic, including but not limited to, hospitality (hotel and food service), transportation, retail, travel, cosmetology, dependent care, and other industries with front-line workers, and particularly for small & minority-owned businesses. For more information or to apply, CLICK HERE. For specific questions about the GROW program, contact Cynthia Grissom at cgrissom@worksourcemontgomery.com
• USDA FSA Grant to support GAP Certification and other Food Safety Expenses: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds specialty crop producers of available assistance to help cover certain costs of complying with regulatory and market-driven food safety certification requirements. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept applications for 2023 costs from Feb. 1, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2024.
• USDA FSA Microloans: Loans of up to $50,000 for down payment on land, buildings, projects, equipment, and several other approved uses. For farmer land owners and also for farm operators (non-owners).
• MARBIDCO Grants: Several grant programs to apply to, for cold storage, aggregation, urban ag, and more! Typically with a match.
• Farm Storage Facility Loan Program: The Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) provides low-interest financing so producers can build or upgrade facilities to store commodities. Eligible commodities include grains, oilseeds, peanuts, pulse crops, hay, honey, renewable biomass commodities, fruits and vegetables, floriculture, hops, maple sap, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs, meat/poultry (unprocessed), rye and aquaculture. Eligible facility types include grain bins, hay barns, bulk tanks, and facilities for cold storage. Drying and handling and storage equipment is also eligible, including storage and handling trucks. Eligible facilities and equipment may be new or used, permanently affixed or portable. Since its inception in May 2000, more than 33,000 loans have been issued for on-farm storage, increasing storage capacity by 900 million bushels.FSFL is an excellent financing program for on-farm storage and handling for small and mid-sized farms, and for new farmers. Loan terms vary from 3 to 12 years. The maximum loan amount for storage facilities is $500,000. The maximum loan amount for storage and handling trucks is $100,000. In 2016 FSA introduced a new loan category, the microloan, for loans with an aggregate balance up to $50,000. Microloans offer a 5 percent down payment requirement, compared to a 15 percent down payment for a regular FSFL, and waive the regular three-year production history requirement.