Community Food Project | USDA NIFA CFP 006733

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA CFP 006733

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Community Food Projects (CFP) grant opportunity for FY 2019 (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA NIFA CFP 006733; CFDA: 10.225) is a discretionary grant program focused on improving food security and strengthening local food systems, especially for low-income communities. NIFA planned to fund two related grant types under this opportunity: Community Food Projects (CFP), which support more fully developed projects ready for implementation, and Planning Projects (PP), which support early-stage work that helps communities design, organize, and prepare for longer-term solutions.

At the core of the program is a set of practical, community-centered goals. The first is meeting the food needs of low-income individuals through direct food distribution, outreach that helps people enroll and participate in federally assisted nutrition programs, and other efforts that improve access to food as part of a broader, comprehensive community service approach. Another major goal is increasing community self-reliance, meaning projects should help communities build lasting local capacity to feed themselves rather than relying only on short-term, stopgap assistance. The program also aims to encourage comprehensive responses to local food access, farm, and nutrition challenges, so proposals are expected to connect multiple parts of the food system (production, distribution, markets, nutrition supports, and community services) instead of addressing problems in isolation. Finally, CFP is designed to help communities meet specific state, local, or neighborhood food and agricultural needs, which can include purchasing equipment necessary for efficient project operations, supporting planning activities that lead to durable long-term solutions, and creating innovative marketing approaches that benefit both agricultural producers (particularly small and medium-size farms) and low-income consumers.

Eligibility is limited to a specific set of applicant types: public food program service providers, tribal organizations, or private nonprofit entities, including gleaners. Applicants must be able to document nonprofit status, and the program is explicit that missing an eligibility requirement by the application deadline can lead to the application being removed from consideration, even if it otherwise appears competitive. Beyond fitting into one of the eligible organization categories, applicants also have to satisfy four key capability and commitment requirements. First, they must have experience in at least one relevant area: community food work tied to small and medium-size farms and expanding markets in low-income communities; job training and business development for food-related activities in low-income communities; or direct work to reduce food insecurity such as food distribution, improving access to services, or coordinating programs. Second, they must show they are competent to run the project responsibly, including fiscal accountability, data collection, and required reporting. Third, they must be willing to share information broadly, which includes having a plan to disseminate results to researchers, evaluators, practitioners, and other interested parties. Fourth, they must collaborate with one or more local partner organizations to advance at least one hunger-free communities goal, consistent with the program emphasis on coordinated, community-wide strategies.

While only the lead applicant must meet the formal eligibility rules, NIFA strongly encourages building partnerships across sectors. Applicants are urged to form collaborations with public and private entities, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, academic institutions (including minority-serving colleges and universities), community-based organizations, local government, and other professionals who can contribute expertise or operational capacity. The opportunity also allows award recipients to issue subawards to organizations that are not themselves eligible to apply, as long as those partners are necessary to successfully carry out the project and the arrangement complies with the funding restrictions described in the solicitation.

The program also addresses a common administrative barrier by allowing the use of a fiscal agent. If an applicant organization cannot accept federal funds directly, the application must include a letter stating that award funds will be administered through a designated fiscal agent. That letter has to identify the fiscal agent and be countersigned by an authorized representative of the fiscal agent organization, and it must include standard contact details such as the point of contact, address, phone, fax, and email. If the application is recommended for funding, NIFA would then request complete management information from both the applicant and the fiscal agent to ensure proper oversight and compliance.

From the funding opportunity record provided, the original application closing date was June 3, 2019, and the listed award ceiling was $125,000. The opportunity was created on April 22, 2019. NIFA also pointed applicants who were new to federal grants to its online grants overview materials, including free Grants 101 training resources, reflecting the program expectation that funded organizations can manage federal requirements related to budgeting, accountability, performance reporting, and documentation.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Food Project" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.225.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-04-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-06-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $125,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA CFP 006733

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