$2M in funding soon available for local food infrastructure; RFA opens in December

 

Last year, farmers in the Illinois Stewardship Alliance Local Food Farmer Caucus and its allies came together to address one of the biggest issues facing the food system in Illinois: A lack of critical infrastructure such as mills, food hubs, livestock processing facilities, refrigeration, trucking, and community kitchens to get food from their farms to the schools, institutions, and communities that need it most.

They developed an ambitious plan to create a new state grant program to support local food infrastructure. They drafted legislation, negotiated with stakeholders, lobbied at the capitol, and asked the public to contact lawmakers.

Because of supporters’ and members’ efforts, the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program was funded, and it received $2 million to directly support building local food systems.

The new Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program will invest in critical infrastructure to scale up the processing, aggregation, and distribution of local food to meet the needs of Illinois communities. This grant is made possible with funding through the Illinois Department of Agriculture.  Further information is forthcoming. Initial grant details can be found below.

Illinois Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program

Grant applications will be reviewed by a committee of local agriculture and food specialists. A minimum of 12 grants will be awarded, though more are possible.

An entity will only be eligible to receive one award under this program.

Eligible Applicants include but are not limited to: 

• Illinois farms with less than 50 employees
• Illinois cooperatives with less than 50 employees
• Illinois processing facilities, food businesses, and food hubs, with less than 50 employees
• Illinois non-profit organizations
• Units of local government in Illinois
• Multi-farm collaborations
• Healthcare entities
• Educational institutions
• Correctional facilities

Examples of Funding Requests

Applicants will have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $150,000 for full or partial funding of a project or purchase. All grant funding must be used for the purchasing, leasing to own, renting, building, or installation of infrastructure that will increase market access of Illinois communities to Illinois agricultural products.

Allowable expenses include, but are not limited to:

• Equipment used in the production of value-added agricultural products
• Milling or pressing equipment
• Creamery or milk product processing and packaging equipment
• Food hub development or expansion
• Cooler walls and refrigeration units
• Grading, packing, labeling, packaging, or sorting equipment
• Refrigerated trucks
• Custom exempt mobile slaughter units and livestock processing equipment
• Agroforestry processing equipment
• Local fish and shrimp processing equipment
• Investments in technology and digital infrastructure to assist with aggregation or distribution of products
• Supply chain infrastructure to transport, coordinate, aggregate, and distribute farm products from multiple sources

Preference shall be given to proposals that:

• have established favorable community support
• have a positive economic impact on the State’s local food sector.
• increase the availability of Illinois agricultural products to underserved communities in Illinois
• submitted by or that positively impact underserved farmers in Illinois, including Socially Disadvantaged; Veterans; and Limited Resource, as defined by the USDA
• facilitate long-term economic development in the local food sector.

Tentative Timeline

• Application Opens: December 2023
• Application Closes: February 2024
• Funds Distributed: by March 2024
• Project Completion Deadline: August 2024

More information and technical assistance is coming soon. Stay up to date on the latest by signing up for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance newsletter.