Grant writing workshop March 31 in Sidney to support local foods

A grant-writing workshop designed to help potential applicants understand, develop, and submit federal grant applications for the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program will be offered March 31 in Sidney as part of a collaboration between federal, state, and regional partners.

March 28 is the registration deadline for the Sidney meeting, which will take place at Western Nebraska Community College, 371 College Drive, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

There is no cost, but pre-registration is required by contacting Karen DeBoer ([email protected]) or Gary Lesoing ([email protected]) or by calling Cheyenne County Extension at (308) 254-4455 or Nemaha County Extension at (402) 274-4755. Please contact Gary Lesoing for questions. 

The workshop is conducted by Nebraska Extension, in collaboration with the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This effort is known as the Agricultural Marketing Service Technical Assistance (AMSTA) Project.

According to AMS Administrator Anne Alonzo, “The Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program is a key to USDA’s efforts to revitalize rural economies by supporting local and regional food systems. The grant workshops will ensure that more communities and businesses across the country can participate in the competitive grant process with proposals that create real economic opportunities and help meet the growing demand for locally and regionally produced food.”

Similar workshops are being held throughout the country. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is coordinating the workshops through the Regional Rural Development Centers. Extension educators will provide training in all regions. NIFA and all partners will conduct outreach to raise awareness of AMS grant opportunities and increase participation in the programs.

A list of upcoming grant workshop dates and locations can be found at http://www.amsta.net.  

With $30 million authorized annually by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) through fiscal year 2018, AMS’s Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program awards competitive grants to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local and regional markets. The Farmers Market Promotion Program supports farmers markets and other direct producer-to-consumer activities, while the Local Food Promotion Program supports enterprises that aggregate, store, distribute and process local and regional food.

These investments are part of USDA’s commitment to strengthening local and regional food systems through projects that recruit and train farmers, expand economic opportunities, and increase access to healthy foods. USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative (KYF2) coordinates USDA’s support for local and regional food systems.

Projects aligned with these efforts can be found on the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass. For more information on AMS, visit http://www.ams.usda.gov, and for more on NIFA, visit http://www.nifa.usda.gov.