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SARE Leading National Community Foods Project Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grants Program

Nifa Authors
Margaret Lawrence, Writer-Editor

In the United States, more than a third of available food goes uneaten through loss or waste. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) supports research, Extension and educational activities to mitigate food loss and waste through a number of programs.  

Funded by NIFA, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is leading a national Community Foods Project (CFP) Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grants effort. This new SARE program supports projects that align with USDA activities aimed at reducing food loss and reducing food waste, getting surplus wholesome food to individuals and developing linkages between food producers, providers and food recovery organizations.  

Southern region SARE is soliciting proposals for the Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grants. The purpose of this one-time grant opportunity is to implement outreach, training and technical assistance efforts to build capacity for food loss and waste initiatives.  

The application deadline is June 28 at 5 p.m. EDT. Projects will span three years, beginning on September 1, 2024. Roughly two to four projects, with an expected grant size of $500,000, are anticipated to be funded for each SARE region. This strategy will ensure regional priorities addressing food loss and waste can be augmented, while allowing for national coordination and impacts. A total of $8 million is being funded nationally for the CFP Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grants effort.  

Eligible entities whose goals and activities are centered on reducing food loss and waste are invited to apply. This can include, but is not limited to, tribal organizations, non-governmental organizations; community organizations; gleaning and food recovery organizations; public food program service providers; and academic institutions – 1862, 1890, and 1994 Land-grants, Hispanic-serving Institutions and other colleges and universities. Applications from organizations that address food insecurity in rural, tribal and underserved communities are encouraged.  

Awards will encompass a broad array of community food activities and integrate actionable activities that reduce food waste within the local food system by keeping food in the human food supply chain and saving money for families and businesses.  

The goals of the Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grants Program are to:  

  • increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own food needs;  
  • promote comprehensive responses to local food access, farm and nutrition issues;  
  • identify strategies for reducing food loss and waste by identifying value added production opportunities;  
  • meet specific state, local or neighborhood food and agriculture needs for planning for long-term solutions;  
  • create innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural stakeholders and consumers; and  
  • describe how the research or training and technical assistance will lead to improved quality of life for producers, communities and consumers.
     

For more information about this grant opportunity, contact Lisa Johnson at FLW@sare.org

Farm Bill Priority Areas
Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health
Agriculture economics and rural communities

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