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The RFSP supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The RFSP focuses on building and strengthening local or regional food economy viability and resilience, and this includes pandemic response and recovery.Applicants will work with their partners to catalyze the development of local or regional food systems. Applicants will coordinate efforts within the partnership to set priorities, connect resources and services, and measure progress towards common goals.Partnerships are authorized to:•Determine the size and scope of the local or regional food system in which the project’s goals, outreach objectives, and eligible activities are to be carried out.•Coordinate with AMS to receive technical assistance; and•Conduct outreach and education for potential participation in the partnership agreement and eligible activities.Partnerships must bring a variety of financial and technical capabilities, demonstrate experience or readiness to work effectively and collaboratively with public and private entities across sectors, and present innovative, sustainable, and measurable approaches to achieving the project’s goals. RFSP grant recipients may apply for other LAMP programs on behalf of producers or eligible entities that desire to participate in eligible activities under the partnership agreement.

LFPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on: •Supporting the processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products that are marketed locally or regionally, including value-added agricultural products;•Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products;•Assisting with business development plans and feasibility studies;•Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food products and value-added agricultural products in new and existing markets;•Facilitating regional food chain coordination and mid-tier value chain development;•Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste;•Responding to changing technology needs in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing; and•Covering expenses related to cost incurred in obtaining food safety certification and improvements to food safety practices and equipment.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will establish cooperative agreements with state and Tribal governments for the purpose of supporting local, regional, and socially disadvantaged farmers/producers through food purchasing under the “Build Back Better Initiative.” State and Tribal governments will purchase food from local and regional farmers/producers, targeting socially disadvantaged farmers/producers. These cooperative agreements will allow for entities to procure local, domestic foods that are unique to their geographic area and meet the needs of the populations. In addition to increasing local food consumption, funds are expected to help build and expand economic opportunity for local and socially disadvantaged farmers/producers. USDA will provide the state or Tribal government funding for food purchases as well as guidance, technical assistance, instruction, and monitoring throughout the life cycle of the cooperative agreement. Initial agreements will be distributed incrementally to ensure all interested applicants have an opportunity for an award. Initial awards will be to State Governments and Tribal Governments. Depending on demand, additional agreements may be made available for local governments. The expectation of this program is for recipients to spend the pre-dominance of awarded funds on food purchases. Food purchases can include both fresh and processed foods. Applicants may also request direct and indirect costs associated with developing and administering the program in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.414. All food purchased must meet the definition of domestically produced as well as the definition of local as defined in section 1.2.1. The period of performance for the Cooperative Agreements will be two years from the time of award. State agencies and Tribal governments should determine funding amounts based on their local food purchase availability and the needs of underserved communities. Funds may also be used to cover the activities associated with program development, administration, food storage and food distribution. States and Tribal governments will submit proposals indicating how they will use the funds to purchase commodities to meet the specified objectives within their state or region. These funds will be awarded through a non-competitive process based on the statutory The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) funding formula. This formula considers the poverty rate and unemployment levels in each state to ensure the distribution of funds corresponds to feeding needs in each state. Cooperative Agreement applications will be awarded based on acceptability and ability to meet the goals of the program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Specialty Crop Multi-State Program (SCMP). AMS will competitively award funds to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through collaborative, multi-state projects that address the following regional or national level specialty crop issues: food safety; plant pests and disease; research; crop-specific projects addressing common issues; and marketing and promotion

LFPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on:• Supporting and promoting local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing;• Supporting the processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage of local and regional food products that are marketed locally or regionally, including value-added agricultural products;• Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products;• Assisting with business development plans and feasibility studies;• Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food products and value-addedagricultural products in new and existing markets;• Facilitating regional food chain coordination and mid-tier value chain development;• Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste;• Responding to changing technology needs in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing; and• Covering expenses to cost incurred in obtaining food safety certification related andimprovements to food safety practices and equipment.

FMPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand direct producer-to-consumer markets to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The program focuses on:• Supporting and promoting domestic direct producer-to-consumer (including direct producer-to- retail, direct producer-to-restaurant and direct producer-to-institutional marketing) marketing such as farmers markets, roadside stands, agritourism activities, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, or online sales;• Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products;• Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food and value-added products;• Facilitating regional food chain coordination and mid-tier value chain development;• Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste; • Responding to changing technology needs in direct producer-to-consumer marketing; and• Covering expenses related to costs incurred in obtaining food safety certification andimprovements to food safety practices and equipment.Projects that aim to address COVID-19 impacts through these activities are welcome.

The RFSP supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The RFSP focuses on building and strengthening local or regional food economy viability and resilience, and this includes pandemic response and recovery.Applicants will work with their partners to catalyze the development of local or regional food systems. Applicants will coordinate efforts within the partnership to set priorities, connect resources and services, and measure progress towards common goals.Partnerships are authorized to:• Determine the size and scope of the local or regional food system in which the project’s goals, outreach objectives, and eligible activities are to be carried out.• Coordinate with AMS to receive technical assistance; and• Conduct outreach and education for potential participation in the partnership agreement andeligible activities.Partnerships must bring a variety of financial and technical capabilities, demonstrate experience or readiness to work effectively and collaboratively with public and private entities across sectors, and present innovative, sustainable, and measurable approaches to achieving the project’s goals.

MGFSP assists agricultural agencies or departments in eligible states and territories, as provided in section 3.1 of the Request for Applications (RFA), to increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food in food insecure communities through small-scale gardening, herding, and livestock operations by competitively distributing subawards to eligible entities, as provided in section 3.2 of the RFA.For a full description of MGFSP requirements, including required application materials, see the RFA in the Related Documents section of this listing.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant program. AMS will competitively award grants to eligible applicants for projects that support partnerships to plan and develop local or regional food systems.It is anticipated that approximately $10 million, less USDA administrative costs, will be available to fund applications under this solicitation. The final amount available is subject to Congressional action.RFSP is implemented through two project types: Planning and Design, the awards for which range from $100,000 to $250,000, and Implementation and Expansion, the awards for which range from $250,000 to $1,000,000. A 25 percent cash match of total Federal funds is required.Partnerships are eligible to apply to RFSP. A partnership is an agreement between one or more eligible entities and one or more eligible partners. See the RFA section 3.0 for more information. An application may be submitted by an eligible entity or an eligible partner on behalf of the partnership. The partnership must specify in its application which organization(s) in the partnership are responsible for receiving and managing the award.All applicants must be domestic entities owned, operated, and located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Tribal Governments.

Approximately $13.5 million in competitive grant funds in fiscal year (FY) 2020 is available for award through the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). LFPP is a component of the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP), which is authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill under the Local Agriculture Marketing Program (LAMP). The goal of LFPP grants are to develop, coordinate and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. LFPP offers both Planning and Implementation projects. For LFPP Planning, the minimum award is 25,000 and a maximum of $100,000 for up to 18 months (1.5 years). Applicants are expected to begin on September 30, 2020 and be completed by March 31, 2022. For LFPP Implementation projects, the minimum award is $100,000 and a maximum of $500,000 for a period of 36 months (3 years). Applicants are expected to begin September 30, 2020 and be completed by September 29, 2023. Matching funds of 25% of the Total Federal portion of the grant is required.