Technical Support and Coaching Opportunity - Regional Food System Infrastructure

The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) and Larklea are offering to Regional Food Systems Infrastructure applicants and grantees various forms of support and technical services including application support, infrastructure capital and financial planning technical assistance, and ongoing business coaching services.

For those who are interested in any of these support services, please click here to fill out the very short survey so VSJF and Larklea can understand your project and service needs.

If you have questions about these services or the form, please contact Jake Claro (jake @ vsjf.org) and Tad Cooke (tad @ larklea.com). 

Grant Opportunity: Regional Food System Infrastructure    

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets has released details for a Regional Food Systems Infrastructure grant application. This new, one-time USDA funding supports the middle of the supply chain - meaning everything in between farm production and retail. This includes aggregation, distribution, manufacturing, processing, storing, transporting, wholesale, and value-add. The grant focuses on increasing the local supply chain, supporting market development and new market opportunities, development of value-added products, and fair prices, better wages, and safe job opportunities.

Please note that projects to support meat or poultry are excluded from this opportunity, per USDA stipulations. Projects that are exclusive to farming or farm production are not eligible for this funding. However, on-farm processing or value-added projects are eligible, as they fall within the middle of the supply chain suite of activities.