Application portal expected to open January 2024

FRANKFORT (Dec. 21, 2023) - The application portal for Kentucky entities to take advantage of the more than $8.6 million awarded to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program is opening soon.

The money, which will be provided through a competitive grant process, is part of an overall $420 million the USDA committed to states to build resilience in the middle of the supply chain and strengthen local and regional food systems by creating new revenue streams for producers. Applications for those grants are expected to open in early January 2024.

Eligible projects include those that expand capacity for aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of food products, for specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry.

The funds for RFSI come out of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) for states and territories via formula funding. To award its share, KDA will work in partnership with USDA to make competitive subawards to support infrastructure and equipment grants.

The grants will be awarded in two funding streams:

• Infrastructure - The infrastructure grant is available for applicants that are interested in building resiliency across the middle-of-the-food-supply-chain. Applicants can apply for cost-share support from a minimum of $100,000 to a maximum of $3 million for eligible projects. Successful applicants will need to provide 50 percent to 25 percent match based upon them meeting federal definitions for Small or Historically Underserved Business Owners.
• Equipment-only - The equipment only grant provides money for eligible equipment that meets the funding criteria. Applicants can apply for cost-share support from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $100,000 for eligible equipment. Successful applicants can receive 100 percent funding for approved equipment.

Prior to submitting its state plan, KDA conducted a public survey to gather opinions on how best the USDA funding could be used. The questions were constructed in a way to allow individuals to be better able to express themselves more openly and honestly and help the KDA receive more genuine and authentic suggestions. With these genuine comments, it has helped KDA in making the state plan adhere to Kentucky’s needs.

In Kentucky’s proposed state plan, KDA will collaborate with three partners to assist applicants with technical assistance in the RFSI program. Those partners are the Kentucky Center for Agriculture & Rural Development (KCARD), the University of Kentucky’s – The Food Connection (TFC), and the Community Farm Alliance (CFA). More information will be available on their roles in the program with the approval of the state plan.

KDA has submitted its state plan for the RFSI program to USDA for approval. Upon approval of the state plan, the application portal will open. The anticipated date for the application portal is January 2024.

KDA has created a webpage, kyagr.com/consumer/RFSI.html, to keep information up to date on the grants and the approval process. More information can be obtained by emailing RFSI@ky.gov or calling (502) 573-0282.