Farmer
Assistance
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
If you are a farmer or rural entrepreneur in the Midwest, you are invited to use a free Grants Advising service of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Our Grants Advisers help you decide whether a grant would be the best way to achieve your goals. If so, he or she will help you identify a grant program that best fits your goals and help you outline a plan of work for you to follow to meet the application deadline and all application requirements. If not, the Adviser will suggest other resources you may choose to approach. Examples might be federal, state or local loan programs, loan guarantees, as well as resource information and resource persons.
Government Funding
EPA: Local Food, Local Places
Local Foods, Local Places helps cities and towns across the country protect the environment and human health by engaging with local partners to reinvest in existing neighborhoods as they develop local food systems. In 2019, the program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), EPA, and the Northern Border Regional Commission.
Local Foods, Local Places supports locally led, community-driven efforts to protect air and water quality, preserve open space and farmland, boost economic opportunities for local farmers and businesses, improve access to healthy local food, and promote childhood wellness.
USDA: Community Food Projects
In FY 2019, the National Institute Food Agriculture's CFP intends to solicit applications and fund two types of grants. The types are entitled (1) Community Food Projects (CFP) and (2) Planning Projects (PP). The primary goals of the CFP are to: Meet the food needs of low-income individuals through food distribution, community outreach to assist in participation in Federally assisted nutrition programs, or improving access to food as part of a comprehensive service; Increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for the food needs of the communities; Promote comprehensive responses to local food access, farm, and nutrition issues; and Meet specific state, local or neighborhood food and agricultural needs including needs relating to: Equipment necessary for the efficient operation of a project; Planning for long-term solutions; or The creation of innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers.
MDARD: Value-Add / Regional Food Systems Grant
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development provides grants to establish, retain, expand, attract or develop value added agricultural processing in Michigan, or that expand or develop regional food systems or access the healthy food.