Community food projects assistance available

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COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS 2003 GRANT CYCLE 

PROVIDES INCREASED FUNDING AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Approximately $4.6 million is available this year to low-income communities 
and organizations to help them become more self-sustaining in their food 
supplies.  The Community Food Projects (CFP) program, administered by the 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, announced the availability of 2003 grant funds on 
February 11.  Funding proposals will be due by April 14 at 5:00 p.m. 

Initiated in 1996, the CFP has been amended this year to broaden its emphasis 
in some areas.  In addition to helping meet the food needs of low-income 
people, increasing the self-reliance of communities in providing for their 
own food needs, and promoting comprehensive responses to local food, farm, 
and nutrition issues, the CFP can now directly support infrastructure 
improvement and development, long-term planning, and the creation of 
innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers 
and low-income consumers. 

Funding preference is given to projects that develop linkages between two or 
more sectors of the food system, support the development of entrepreneurial 
projects, involve public and for-profit as well as nonprofit entities, and 
promote multi-system, interagency approaches with multistakeholder 
collaborations that build the long-term capacity of communities to address 
their food and agricultural problems.  

Funds will also be available under the CFP this year for training and 
technical assistance (T&TA) on a regional and national basis.  T&TA projects 
are designed to assist organizations in understanding the purposes of the CFP 
and its grant application process, assessing the food security needs of a 
community, and successfully carrying out and evaluating their projects.  

Only private non-profit organizations are eligible to receive CFP funds 
directly, but collaborations with public and private, for-profit entities are 
recommended in order to develop a strong proposal.  The CFP is a national, 
competitive grant program, with applications evaluated by reviewers from the 
food security community.  Applicants may request up to $300,000 for projects 
of up to three years’ duration.  CFP funds requested must be matched dollar 
for dollar with non-federal resources from state, local, community, and/or 
private sources.  Projects should be planned to use a one-time infusion of 
federal funds to become self-sustaining.

The Request for Applications and related forms are available at:

http://www.reeusda.gov/1700/funding/ourfund.htm

The Community Food Projects website has more information and summaries of 
funded projects: http://www.reeusda.gov/crgam/cfp/community.htm

For more information, contact Dr. Elizabeth Tuckermanty at 
etuckermanty@reeusda.gov or (202) 205-0241. 

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THE COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY COALITION 
OFFERS FREE ASSISTANCE 
TO HELP YOU DEVELOP A SUCCESSFUL PROPOSAL 

The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) offers the following free 
services to help you understand the Community Food Projects (CFP) program and 
submit a strong proposal.  Thanks to USDA for supporting these services! 

If you are considering submitting a proposal, it is extremely helpful to 
start planning early, as collaborative proposals involving multiple 
stakeholders require significant planning time.

One-on-One Assistance to CFP Grant Applicants

CFSC’s technical assistance specialist for CFP applicants, Hugh Joseph, will 
be available to answer questions and provide advice.  He can help you decide 
whether or not to apply for a grant, clarify CFP program guidelines, address 
technical questions, and/or refer you to others with expertise in specific 
areas.  

If you would like to use this service, begin by reviewing the Guide described 
below.  Then contact Hugh via email at hughjoseph@attbi.com (before April 4). 
 He will reply by e-mail and, as needed, set up a phone appointment, and/or 
to make referrals for additional assistance.  Please note that Hugh will be 
out of the country February 14-March 10, and will not have regular e-mail 
access.  If you have questions about the program or application guidelines 
during that time, contact Dr. Elizabeth Tuckermanty at 
etuckermanty@reeusda.gov or (202) 205-0241, or Zy Weinberg at 
zweinberg@reeusda.gov or (202) 401-1928.  

The CFSC will sponsor up to one hour of assistance per CFP grant applicant at 
no cost to you.  If you would like to request additional assistance, it will 
be available at a fee of $60 per hour.

CFP Project Planning Guide

This 33-page document, written by Hugh Joseph for the CFSC, provides a wealth 
of information on what types of projects are eligible for funding, how to 
develop a strong proposal, and how USDA evaluates proposals.

The updated 2003 Guide will be available in late February.  It will be very 
similar to the 2002 version, which can be accessed on the CFSC website at 
www.foodsecurity.org/proguide.html.  If you are not able to access this 
document on the web site, contact CFSC at cfsc@foodsecurity.org or (310) 
822-5410 to request a hard-copy version.

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