Vermont will distribute $1 Million in Equipment Grants
By Julia Scheier, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been rolling out a new initiative across all 50 states to build resilience in the food supply chain, provide more and better markets to farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products, and promote equitable and safe jobs. The Agency of Agriculture is administering this program and awarding over $3.2M in grants, with the first round of grant applications completed earlier this summer.
The second round will be focused only on equipment purchases and will be available to Vermont businesses and organizations that strengthen local and regional food systems. These awards will support projects that work in the “middle of the supply chain,” meaning everything between farm production and selling in stores. This includes aggregation, distribution, manufacturing, processing, storage, transportation, and wholesaling of Vermont food products. RFSI’s goal is to reduce bottlenecks and offer more infrastructure to get quality, Vermont made products to customers.
“Equipment and other infrastructure tools are vital to the resiliency of Vermont’s food system and the small businesses that comprise it,” said Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture. “Many now utilize outdated, under-sized and inefficient equipment, holding them back from growth, but these grants will help our state’s food system businesses thrive and compete. This was a recommendation of Governor Scott’s Future of Agriculture Commission, and it’s wonderful to see the grants happen.”
This grant program supports products such as specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and value-added products. Per USDA requirements, meat and poultry are excluded from this opportunity.
The second and final round of RFSI grants will be for equipment purchases that increase processing, bottling, or labeling capacity; modernize or expand storage; enhance energy efficiency or are climate-smart; or other equipment needs that support middle of the supply chain activities. Details for this grant will be announced in August, with full application information online. There is approximately $1 million available for this track. Grants will range from $30,000 - $100,000 with no match requirement. Projects will begin in early spring of 2025.
Contact Julia Scheier with any questions at Julia.Scheier@vermont.gov or 802-522-7042.
Full grant details can be found here: https://agriculture.vermont.gov/grants/resilient-food-systems-infrastructure