Two Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program grants are accepting applications now through 5 p.m. on Nov. 22. These two grants are the Direct-to-Farmer Grant and the Community Partners Grant. Funding comes through a cooperative agreement between the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.
Apply: https://www.wilocalfood.org/
Direct-to-Farmer Grant
This is for Wisconsin farm businesses to sell their products to the program with contracts ranging from $5,000-$25,000. Contracts between Marbleseed and awarded farmers will include agreements on pricing for pre-season projected products, pre-season payment schedules, product quality, as well as procurement and distribution procedures.
The program aims to work with up to 150 farmers with approximately 120 of those farmers representing Black, Indigenous, farmers of color, beginning, and U.S. Veteran farmers. Farmers awarded to supply for the program will also benefit from WI-LFPA educational programming and technical assistance, community building and networking events, and working with food system and hunger relief partners.
The ideal applicant has some wholesale experience or is interested in expanding their business to reach wholesale markets.
For additional information on the Direct-to-Farmer Grant, email info@marbleseed.org.
Community Partners Grant
Projects will be awarded through a competitive grant process. Grant awards can range from $30,000 up to $300,000. This is a one-time funding opportunity designed for partnerships to implement projects that purchase Wisconsin grown, raised or minimally processed food, prioritizing sourcing from socially disadvantaged and historically underserved producers and processors, and distribute that local food at no cost to underserved communities in Wisconsin. This competitive grant program complements the Direct-to-Farmer Grant managed by Marbleseed. Farmers can have an existing WI-LFPA contract with Marbleseed and still participate in a WI-LFPA Community Partner Grant Project.
For additional information on the Community Partner grant, email katie.kracht@wisconsin.gov.
