USDA Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (CFPCGP) Technical Assistance Available to Community Food Projects Applicants
Purposes / goals
The Community Food Project Competitive Grants Program is intended to bring together stakeholders from distinct parts of the food system and to foster understanding of national food security trends and how they might improve local food systems. Understanding that low-income individuals experience disproportionate access to healthy foods, projects are intended to address food and nutrition insecurity, particularly among our nation’s most vulnerable populations. Food and nutrition security is defined as having consistent access, availability, and affordability of foods and beverages that promote well-being. Communities that are partially or fully located in Opportunity Zones are particularly encouraged to apply.
The Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program provides $5 million per year in competitive grant funding, with a dollar-for-dollar required match using non-federal sources. Non-profit organizations are eligible applicants. Two categories of grants are available, with a floor of $25,000 for Planning grants and a ceiling of $400,000 over a four-year period for full Implementation grants. More information can be found here and the RFA here.
Who Are We?
Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) is available from the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions), and spearheaded by Andy Fisher and Hugh Joseph, who both have a long history with this program. ISED (with Third Sector New England – TSNE – as fiscal sponsor) was awarded a four-year Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) grant in 2023 to serve CFPCGP applicants and awardees.
Fisher and Joseph, via the Community Food Security Coalition (1994-2012), played an important role in initially gaining passage of the CFPCGP, and continued to support CFP grantees and applicants for 16 years. We provided help to applicants, and also assisted grantees on many different topics including program evaluation and implementation. Fisher went on to support CFP applicants through New Entry Sustainable Farming Program from 2015-2019. Our expertise in this grant program thus spans 25+ years, which certainly qualifies us to provide current applicants and grantees with the technical support required to be successful.
How we can help applicants
With some exceptions, we can provide a limited amount of the above assistance to prospective applicants, including answering specific questions, and reviewing and commenting on drafts.
More specifically, we can:
· Help you assess your project’s chances at getting funded, its strengths, and weaknesses.
· Answer specific questions about the grant program, request for application, and the review process.
· Answer or get answers for you on technical questions about the match, purchases, or other financial aspects.
· Strategize with you about program design, partnerships, evaluation, sustainability, and similar topics.
· Review your grant proposal and provide some feedback on its clarity, content, analysis, project description, and budget/budget narrative.
What we can’t do:
· Address Grants.gov, SAM, and DUNS related problems. Please contact these entities directly.
· Help you fundraise to make your match.
· Help write or re-write your grant proposal.
· Note that very technical questions (such as questions about the eligibility of capital purchases) may require us to contact USDA staff for clarification, and will likely require extra time for us to respond to your request.
How to Reach us
· We strongly prefer that you fill out an intake form here. This will enable us to better track your request.
· E-mail us at ised.cfp@gmail.com with basic questions.
· Call us at 971-801-8281 and leave a voice mail. We’ll try to respond within two days.
· Many of your questions can likely be answered by reviewing the CFP Standard Project Grantwriting Guide (https://tufts.box.com/s/2ilcrpafvq9ohvbyfb9rjwpn1texwsyt) and/or Project Planning Guide (https://tufts.box.com/s/2dnd0zpyg7bymlfkj7xszhfs4qruxzi7).
Please do so before contacting us.
· Note that responses to requests within the last two weeks before the submission deadline may experience delays due to the sheer volume, and the amount of assistance available may be limited as a result.
Deadline
· Grant proposals are due on October 30, 2023. Click here for the Request for Applications
· Please initiate your technical assistance request at your earliest convenience, and no later than October 20th. We advise applicants to submit their applications early to avoid last minute issues and leaving adequate time to resolve problems.