Community Food Projects Program | USDA NIFA CFP 007312

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA CFP 007312

The Community Food Projects Program is a competitive grant opportunity run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) that supports community-driven efforts to reduce food insecurity and strengthen local food systems. For this cycle, NIFA planned to fund two related grant types: Community Food Projects (CFP), which back on-the-ground implementation, and Planning Projects (PP), which help organizations design and prepare longer-term solutions before launching a full program. Overall, the program is focused on improving food access for low-income communities while also building more resilient, self-reliant local and regional food networks.

Community Food Projects (CFP) are meant to directly address the food needs of low-income individuals in practical, measurable ways. Funded activities can include food distribution efforts; outreach that helps eligible residents enroll in and benefit from federally assisted nutrition programs; and broader strategies that improve access to healthy food as part of a more comprehensive service approach. Beyond immediate access, CFP emphasizes long-term community capacity building, aiming to increase a community's self-reliance in meeting its own food needs and encouraging comprehensive responses that connect food access, local farming, and nutrition challenges rather than treating them separately. Projects may also target specific state, local, or neighborhood food and agricultural needs, including purchasing equipment required to run a project efficiently, developing long-term plans for sustainable solutions, or creating innovative marketing approaches that benefit both agricultural producers and low-income consumers (for example, market channels that make locally produced food more affordable while expanding opportunities for small and mid-sized farms).

Eligibility is limited to certain types of applicants, and organizations must be able to show they have the experience and capacity to carry out federal grant work. Applicants for either CFP or Planning Projects must be public food program service providers, tribal organizations, or private nonprofit entities, including gleaners (as defined in the program materials). To qualify, applicants must meet four core requirements. First, they must have relevant experience in community food work, especially work that connects small and medium-sized farms with low-income communities, expands market opportunities in underserved areas, supports job training and business development tied to food-related activities in low-income communities, and reduces food insecurity through distribution, improved access to services, or coordination of services and programs. Second, the organization must demonstrate it can implement the project responsibly, including fiscal accountability, data collection, and required reporting. Third, applicants must show a willingness to share what they learn, including having a plan to disseminate results to researchers, evaluators, practitioners, and other interested stakeholders. Fourth, the applicant must collaborate with at least one local partner organization in order to advance one or more hunger-free community goals referenced by the program.

Partnerships are strongly encouraged and can include a wide range of collaborators, such as nonprofit or for-profit entities, academic institutions (including minority-serving colleges and universities), community-based organizations, and local government partners. Importantly, only the main applicant must meet the eligibility requirements; partners and collaborators do not. The program also allows award recipients to make sub-awards to organizations that are not themselves eligible to apply, as long as those organizations are necessary to successfully complete the project.

The opportunity also addresses how applicants should proceed if they cannot accept federal funds directly. In that case, the application must include a letter explaining that the award would be managed through a fiscal agent on the applicant's behalf. This letter must identify the fiscal agent, provide contact details, and be countersigned by an authorized representative of the fiscal agent organization. If the application is recommended for funding, NIFA will request full management information from both the applicant and the fiscal agent to ensure the award can be administered properly.

From the funding notice details provided, this opportunity is a discretionary USDA NIFA grant under CFDA 10.225, with an award ceiling of $400,000. The funding opportunity number is USDA NIFA CFP 007312, and the listed closing date was June 3, 2020. Applications must include documentation of nonprofit status where applicable, and the notice emphasizes that failing to meet eligibility requirements by the deadline can lead to removal from consideration or prevent NIFA from making an award even if the proposal is otherwise reviewed.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Food Projects Program" 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 2020-03-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-06-03. (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 $400,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA CFP 007312

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