Regional Food System Partnerships

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.

Business

• For-profit organizations other than small businesses
• Small businesses

Education

• Private institutions of higher education
• Public and state institutions of higher education
• Independent school districts

Nonprofit

• Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3)
• Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)

Government

• Special district governments
• Public and Indian housing authorities
• Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
• State governments
• City or township governments
• County governments