US Department of Agriculture: Farmers Market Promotion Program

The Farmers Market Promotion Program’s (FMPP) purpose is to support the development, coordination, and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer markets to increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) welcomes applications that meet goals to support the development, coordination, and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and enterprises, and value-added agricultural products, and thereby support pandemic recovery in the sector. The USDA further encourages applications that benefit smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers, and/or underserved communities. For grants intending to serve these entities, applicants should engage and involve those beneficiaries when developing projects and applications. USDA promotes climate-resilient landscapes and rural economic systems, including tools to support agriculture, forests, grazing lands, and rural communities, and encourages applicants to consider including goals and activities related to reducing and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere or adapting to the already occurring climate change in their project’s design and implementation.

The FMPP program focuses on:

• Supporting and promoting domestic direct producer-to-consumer (including direct producer-to-retail, direct producer-to-restaurant, and direct producer-to-institutional marketing) marketing such as farmers markets, roadside stands, agritourism activities, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, or online sales;
• Encouraging the development of value-added agricultural products;
• Developing marketing strategies for producers of local food and value-added products;
• Facilitating regional food chain coordination and mid-tier value chain development;
• Promoting new business opportunities and marketing strategies to reduce on-farm food waste;
• Responding to changing technology needs in direct producer-to-consumer marketing; and
• Covering expenses related to costs incurred in obtaining food safety certification and improvements to food safety practices and equipment.

FMPP offers Capacity Building (CB) and Community Development Training and Technical Assistance (CTA) project types:

• Capacity Building: CB projects are intended to assist applicants’ efforts to achieve their mission and build long-term organizational capacity in the development, coordination, and expansion of domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, CSA programs, agritourism activities, online sales, or other direct producer-to-consumer (direct producer-to-retail, direct producer-to-restaurant, and direct producer-to-institutional marketing) market opportunities. CB projects should demonstrate a direct benefit to farm and ranch operations serving local markets (including new, beginning, and underserved farmers and ranchers, veteran producers, and/or underserved communities) and maximize the involvement of farmers and ranchers, and community organizations.
• Community Development Training and Technical Assistance: CTA projects are intended to assist applicants’ efforts to provide outreach, training, and technical assistance to farm and ranch operations serving local markets, and to other interested parties for developing, coordinating, and expanding domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, CSA programs, agritourism activities, online sales, or other direct producer-to-consumer (direct producer-to-retail, direct producer-to-restaurant and direct producer-to-institutional marketing) market opportunities. CTA projects should engage a diverse set of local and regional food stakeholders, including new, beginning, and underserved farmers and ranchers, to illustrate a substantive effect on the local and regional food system.

Priority consideration will be given to projects that benefit communities located in areas of concentrated poverty with limited access to supermarkets or locally or regionally grown food.

Amount: Approximately $13.5 million is available to fund FMPP applications under this solicitation. FMPP Capacity Building projects range from $50,000 to $250,000, while Community Development Training and Technical Assistance projects range from $100,000 to $750,000.

Eligibility: Agricultural businesses or cooperatives, producer networks or associations, CSA networks or associations, food councils, local governments, nonprofit corporations, public benefit corporations, economic development corporations, regional farmers market authorities, and tribal governments.

Link: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/fmpp

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