DEM
Announces That $380,000 in Grants Is Available For Rhode Island Food and
Farming Businesses
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM)
announced $380,000 is available to help grow Rhode Island farm and food
businesses and increase the competitiveness of local products in the
marketplace.
The funding is part of the Local Agriculture and Seafood Act
(LASA) and Farm Viability grant programs – which combined have invested over $3
million to accelerate growth of Rhode Island's green economy and support small
businesses.
"Investing in these popular grant programs boosts our
state's vibrant food economy and the competitiveness of Rhode Island-grown
agricultural products and local seafood," said DEM Director Janet Coit.
"Farming and fishing are an important part of our heritage
and increasingly vital to our economy, and these grants will help farmers,
fishers and food businesses start or expand their operations in Rhode Island.
I'm excited to announce this latest grant round and look forward to the
initiatives and businesses it helps inspire."
LASA Grant Program
Up to $20,000 awards are available through the LASA grant
program to help spur growth of local agriculture, aquaculture, and seafood
industries. Eligible entities include new and small farmers, fishers, food
producers, and non-profits. Both program and capital projects are eligible for
funding.
Priority is given to initiatives that
(1) support the entry, growth
and sustainability of small or beginning Rhode Island farmers, aquaculture
producers and fishers;
(2) foster new collaborations or share new information among
Rhode Island's food partners;
(3) support new products or new sales channels
for clearly defined markets;
(4) enhance access to, and availability of
agricultural land for producers, including farm transition planning and
implementation; or
(5) address gap areas or implementation needs identified in
Rhode Island's Food Strategy, Relish Rhody (www.relishrhody.com).
Now in its fifth year, the LASA program is a public-private
partnership administered jointly with the Rhode Island Food Policy Council –
with generous funding support from the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, the
Henry P. Kendall Foundation, and the Rhode Island Foundation.
A total of
$230,000 is available for the 2018 grant round. To date, over $900,000 has been
awarded through LASA across 70 projects statewide.
For more information on the
LASA program or to apply, visit DEM's website. Online applications are highly
preferred and must be submitted directly to the Rhode Island Food Policy
Council by 11:59 p.m. on March 1. The application is available at
https://rifoodcouncil.wufoo.com/forms/k1j6n2w30gtkztf/.
Additional information,
including instructions for completing the application, is available on the
Rhode Island Food Policy Council website.
Hand-delivered and mailed
applications must be received by DEM's Division of Agriculture by 4:00 p.m. on
March 1. Awards will be announced as part of Rhode Island's Ag Day celebration
in the spring. Additional information is also available on the RI Food Policy
website.
Farm Viability Grant
Program
Grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 are available through the
Farm Viability Grant Program, made possible by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
These grants support
local specialty crop production as well as efforts to grow the marketplace for
these crops in Rhode Island. USDA defines specialty crops as fruits and
vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, and nursery crops, including floriculture
and turf grass.
Eligible entities include farmers or community groups engaged in
research, marketing, food safety/security, plant health, buy-local initiatives,
and/or development of cooperatives. Projects will be funded for up to two
years.
Funded projects must support the broad competitiveness of locally-grown
specialty crops in Rhode Island. Initiatives that benefit a sole commercial
product or provide a profit to a single individual or group will not be
considered.
A total of $150,000 is available for this grant round. To date,
over $2 million has been invested through this program to support growth of
specialty crops in Rhode Island. For more information on the Farm Viability
program, visit DEM's website.
Applications accompanied by a W9 form should be
mailed to DEM Division of Agriculture, Room 370, 235 Promenade Street, Providence,
RI 02908 and postmarked no later than March 31, 2018.
In addition to these grant programs, DEM works across many
fronts to accelerate growth of the local food economy, which supports 60,000
jobs in Rhode Island.
The department continues to make investments in critical
infrastructure as well as provide farm incubation space to new farmers through
its Urban Edge and Snake Den farm properties.
Rhode Island is one of few states
where the number of farms is on the rise – now standing at 1,243 farms. The state
is also a leader in the nation in the percent of its farms selling directly to
the public. Green industries in Rhode Island account for more than 15,000 jobs
and contribute $2.5 billion to the economy.
Local seafood is poised to spur the next wave of food-based
economic growth. In partnership with the Seafood Marketing Collaborative, DEM
developed the RI Seafood brand to uniquely identify Rhode Island seafood in the
marketplace and help local fishermen and distributors grow their businesses.
In
2016, more than 106 million pounds of seafood arrived at Rhode Island ports,
with an export value over $1 billion. For more information on Rhode Island
seafood, visit www.seafoodri.com.
For more information on DEM programs and initiatives, visit
www.dem.ri.gov. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RhodeIslandDEM or on
Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM) for timely updates.
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