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SACRAMENTO, November 12, 2024 – The California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) announces it is seeking public comments for its draft request for applications (RFA) for the new Farm to Community Food Hubs Grant Program. The draft RFA and associated grant documents are available at https://cafarmtofork.cdfa.ca.gov/F2CFHP.html. Public comments are due by 11:59 p.m. PST, Friday, December 6, 2024.
The Farm to Community Food Hubs Grant Program will award up to $14.4 million in competitive grants for organizations developing and expanding community food hubs in California. Grants will fund planning activities, food aggregation, distribution infrastructure and operational costs needed to develop or expand capacity for community food hubs to increase the purchasing of local, environmentally sustainable, climate-smart and equitably produced foods by schools and other institutions. These investments aim to build a better food system economy, support the local farming and indigenous food production economies, accelerate climate adaptation and resilience, and employ food system workers with fair wages and working conditions. Ten percent of the available funding will be set aside for projects led by California Native American Tribes and Tribal-serving nonprofit organizations.
Public comments about the Farm to Community Food Hubs Grant Program draft RFA may be submitted via letters to cafoodhubs@cdfa.ca.gov, via an online survey at https://forms.office.com/g/Ve6ShuvP5B or by attending a virtual public feedback session. CDFA will be hosting the following virtual sessions to share more about the grant program and hear feedback:
12 p.m. PST, Monday, November 18, 2024
9:30 a.m. PST, Thursday, November 21, 2024
- Session intended for California Native American Tribes and Tribal-serving nonprofit organizations
- English only
- Register here
5 p.m. PST, Tuesday, December 3, 2024
CDFA will consider all public comments about the draft RFA before finalizing the grant program and opening the application period, tentatively scheduled for winter 2025. The Farm to Community Food Hubs Program is a new initiative that builds on CDFA’s investments in food hubs through its Farm to School Incubator Grant Program, Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program and California Specialty Crop Grant Program. Learn more at https://cafarmtofork.cdfa.ca.gov/F2CFHP.html.
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