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Local Food System Infrastructure Grant

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WSDA Local Food System Infrastructure Grants

The latest application period closed on April 17th, 2024 - We currently anticipate the next grant round to open in Summer/Fall of 2025 for both Rapid & Ready and Large Projects.

Overview of the Grant Program

The purpose of the Local Food System Infrastructure Grant program is to support local food supply chains and market access for farms, ranches, food processors, and food distributors. The intention is to fund projects that expand and strengthen collaboration across linkages in the regional food supply chain. This includes planning, equipment, and facilities that support on-farm post-harvest handling, aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, distribution, and sale of Washington grown, caught, and raised foods.

Investments that strengthen linkages along the regional food supply chain create new economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and food businesses. Expanding local market access with improvements in the regional food supply chain allows small and mid-sized farms, ranches, and food businesses to retain more of the value chain dollar. Ultimately, this grant program benefits Washington consumers by enhancing the resiliency of the local food supply.

About the Spring 2024 Grant Round

In the Spring 2024 round, WSDA anticipates awarding approximately $2 million in grants. The next application round is anticipated in the summer/fall of 2025.

The Spring 2024 grant round has one project category:

Rapid and Ready: $10,000 up to $75,000
Rapid & Ready grants are for straightforward projects and equipment purchases that can be completed on a relatively short timeline. Proposed projects that involve construction or building improvements should have current quotes from contractors and clear plans for all necessary building permits. Applicants should have up-front funds in place to start and finish a reimbursement style grant within a short timeline.


There is no requirement for matching funds.
 
This is a reimbursement style grant.  This means grant recipients will NOT receive up-front payment. Grant recipients will need to make purchases and payments with their own funds first and then submit receipts for those expenses to WSDA. WSDA will then make payment to the grantee for expenses that are part of the approved project budget. WSDA is not authorized under Washington State Law to pay state funds in advance of expenditures.  
 

Applicants are encouraged to apply for an amount of funding that:
  • Is right-sized to achieve your goals
  • Is appropriate for the stage, capacity, and experience of your operation.
  • Is achievable within the project timeline.
Reasonableness of the budget relative to the impact and achievability of the proposed projects will part of scoring applications.
 
This grant will continue to be available in the future with additional opportunities to apply in 2025, and beyond.

WSDA strongly encourages interested entities to plan to apply when it is right for your operation.


 
Allowable Costs

Grant expenses must directly support the grant purpose to improve local food supply chains and market access for farms, ranches, food processors, or food distributors. This includes planning, equipment, and facilities that support on-farm post-harvest handling, aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, distribution, and sale of locally and regionally produced food products.
  • Facility improvements must comply with all applicable license and permit requirements by the state, county, or other local jurisdiction.
  • No self-dealing in contracting or purchasing of goods and services is allowed.
  • Applicants who rent their facilities must ensure approval for the project from the facility owner.
Ineligible costs include but are not limited to:
  • Food, ingredient, or livestock purchases
  • “Pre-harvest” expenses (for example, green houses, tractors, row covers, irrigation equipment, soil amendments, seed, feed, or other agricultural inputs).
  • On-going operating costs that do not directly support completion of the proposed grant project.

​See allowable cost details in the Grant Guidelines linked below.



Timeline

Grant Application Period Opens March 18th, 2024 - 8:00 am PT
Grant Application Period Closes April 17th, 2024 - 4:00 pm PT
WSDA Notifies Applicants of Award Status July 2024
Awarded Projects End Date June 30th 2025

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

  • An owner-operated farm or ranch in Washington with less than $1 million in annual gross cash farm income in 2022, that sells some portion of their products in Washington state.
    • An owner-operated farm is one in which the majority of the business is owned by the person/s involved in the day to day on-farm operation, including co-operatively owned and operated farms or ranches
OR
  • A non-farm food business with less than $5 million dollars in annual revenue in 2022, and fewer than 200 employees, whose primary function is to gather, process, manufacture, move, store, or sell foods grown, caught, or raised in Washington.
    • Revenue and employee count must include parent company and subsidiaries and across all geographies where the company operates.
    • Employee count is the average number of people employed for each pay period over the business’s latest 24 calendar months. Any person on the payroll must be included as one employee, regardless of hours worked or temporary status.
OR
  • A non-profit, tribal, or local government entity that is directly enabling small and midsize Washington farms, ranches, and food businesses to access or improve aggregation, processing, distribution of their products in Washington, or otherwise directly enabling their access to markets within Washington. This grant may not be used for sub-awards or pass-through funding.

FUNDING PRIORITIES

This is a competitive grant. Applications will be evaluated and scored based on alignment with the grant purpose, to support local food supply chains and market access for farms, ranches, food processors, and food distributors.  Project evaluation categories include:

  • Regional Food System Impact
  • Achievability
  • Reasonable Proposed Budget and Benefits
 
Additional bonus points will be awarded to:
  • Applicants who have received less than $75,000 in awards from WSDA Regional Markets grants in the past three (3) years.
  • Small farms, ranches, and food businesses

 
See Evaluation Criteria details in the Grant Guidelines linked below.

HOW TO APPLY


STEP 1:  Read the Grant Guidelines

 

STEP 2:  Fill out the Application in the Online Grant Portal        

Resources To Help You

(click to expand each section)

Join WSDA for virtual sessions to support success with your application.
If you have a slow internet connection, you can register and then call in by phone.

 

1-hour Grant Overview Webinar (overview of the grant and how to apply)

 

1-hour Applicant Workshops (A short presentation followed by questions related to each topic)

  1. Application Questions Workshop

  2. Proposed Budget Workshop

  3. Evaluation Criteria/Scoring Workshop

 

1-hour Q&A sessions (General questions & answers about the grant and your proposed project, not recorded)

  1. Monday, March 25th 12pm PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

  2. Wednesday, March 27th 9am PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

  3. Friday, March 29th 3pm PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

  4. Saturday, March 30th 10am PT: : sign up here for a zoom link.

    • Simultaneous Spanish translation provided.

  5. Tuesday, April 2nd 7pm PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

  6. Thursday, April 4th 12pm PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

    • Simultaneous Spanish translation provided.

  7. Thursday, April 11th 7:30am PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

  8. Friday, April 12th 12pm PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

  9. Sunday April 14th, 3pm PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

    • Simultaneous Spanish translation provided.

  10. Monday April 15th 12pm PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

  11. Tuesday April 16th 9am PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

  12. Tuesday April 16th 7pm PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

    • Simultaneous Spanish translation provided.

  13. Wednesday April 17th 10am PT: sign up here for a zoom link.

​The Green Book | Washington State Department of Agriculture, hand book for small and direct marketing farms and food businesses including getting connected, business strategies and planning, regulations for food processing and for specific products. 

SBA Small Business Resource Guide 2023 guidance on writing a business plan on page 19

Bussiness Plan Template

Washington Small Business Development Centers SBDC advisors provide one-on-one, confidential, no-cost advising on all phases of small business development and are often co-located with economic development specialists in community colleges, economic development agencies or government agencies. Other services of the Washington SBDC include no-cost or low-cost workshops on a variety of business topics and customized market research services.
 
Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship provides training, one-on-one advising, and other support to help you with the first steps of building a business, from idea generation to solidly established and ready to grow.
They are currently serving people in the North Peninsula (Clallam, Jefferson counties), the North Cascades (Skagit and Island counties), the Palouse (Whitman, Garfield, Columbia, Asotin counties), and Columbia Basin (Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties).  They prioritize people with limited resources from marginalized rural communities. All services are NO COST to all participants. 

Business Impact NW, works with small business owners by providing the business coaching, training, and access to funding they need to successfully launch and grow their businesses. 

Farm Loan Programs (usda.gov), The Farm Service Agency offers loans to help farmers and ranchers get the financing they need to start, expand or maintain a family farm.
Use the Loan Assistance Tool to check your eligibility for FSA Loans, discover FSA loan types, learn about FSA Loan requirements, and walk through the easy-to-understand instructions when completing the forms.