The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has a cooperative agreement with Maine under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Through this agreement, USDA and Maine are working together to offer nearly $4 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. Maine is accepting applications for this Infrastructure Grant funding through April 29, 2024. Applications for the RFSI simplified equipment-only grants will be accepted in the fall of 2024.
In May 2023, USDA announced the availability of up to $420 million through RFSI to strengthen local and regional food systems. Through this program, AMS has entered into cooperative agreements with state agencies, commissions or departments responsible for agriculture, commercial food processing, seafood, or food system and distribution activities or commerce activities in states or U.S. territories. RFSI is authorized by the American Rescue Plan. Updates for each state’s Request for Applications for the RFSI program are available on the AMS website.