WASHINGTON, March 16, 2023 – The U.S. Division of Agriculture (USDA) as we speak introduced the supply of as much as $9.5 million for Compost and Meals Waste Discount (CFWR) pilot tasks for fiscal yr 2023. The cooperative agreements help tasks that develop and take a look at methods for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and meals waste discount plans. They’re a part of USDA’s broader efforts to help city agriculture.
USDA’s Workplace of City Agriculture and Modern Manufacturing (OUAIP) – led by USDA’s Pure Assets Conservation Service – will settle for functions on Grants.gov till 11:59 p.m. Japanese Time on June 15, 2023. Tasks ought to span two years with a begin date of Dec. 1, 2023, and completion date of Dec. 1, 2025.
“These cooperative agreements help communities of their efforts to cut back and divert meals waste from landfills,” NRCS Chief Terry Cosby mentioned. “These tasks will empower communities to cut back waste and help agricultural producers by way of elevated entry to compost to enhance soil well being on their operations.”
Cooperative agreements help tasks led by native governments or different eligible entities that:
- Generate compost;
- Improve entry to compost for agricultural producers;
- Cut back reliance on and restrict the usage of fertilizer;
- Enhance soil high quality;
- Encourage waste administration and permaculture enterprise growth;
- Improve rainwater absorption;
- Cut back municipal meals waste; and
- Divert meals waste from landfills.
OUAIP will prioritize tasks that anticipate or display financial advantages, incorporate plans to make compost simply accessible to farmers, together with group gardeners, combine different meals waste methods, together with meals restoration efforts and collaborate with a number of companions. Further particulars can be found within the grants.gov discover.
That is the third yr that OUAIP has supplied this funding alternative. For instance, final yr, the Inside Alaska Meals Waste Discount and Schooling Initiative in Fairbanks, Alaska, obtained funds to help a free yard composting program, distribution of instructional supplies, and numerous workshops that attraction to compost newbies together with college students.
In the meantime, the Transferring In the direction of Zero Waste: Increasing Meals Waste Diversion and Composting undertaking in Windfall, Rhode Island, is subsidizing coaching and provides for yard composting, develop a public training marketing campaign centered on the advantages of meals waste diversion and that drives participation in regionally out there meals waste diversion providers.
Webinar
A pre-recorded webinar will present an outline of the cooperative agreements’ function, undertaking sorts, eligibility and fundamental necessities for submitting functions. The webinar might be posted at farmers.gov/city.
Extra Data
OUAIP was established by way of the 2018 Farm Invoice. It’s led by NRCS and works in partnership with quite a few USDA businesses that help city agriculture and revolutionary manufacturing. The grants are a part of a broad USDA funding in city agriculture. Different efforts embrace:
- The UAIP Aggressive Grants Program, which introduced $7.5 million in funding alternatives this yr.
- Creating and managing a Federal Advisory Committee for City Agriculture and Modern Manufacturing to advise the Secretary on the event of insurance policies and outreach regarding city agriculture.
- Reopening the Individuals’s Backyard Initiative. Individuals’s Gardens throughout the nation develop recent, wholesome meals and help resilient, native meals methods; train individuals easy methods to backyard utilizing sustainable practices; and nurture habitat for pollinators and wildlife and greenspace for neighbors.
- Offering technical and monetary help by way of conservation packages supplied by NRCS.
- Organizing 17 Farm Service Company city county committees.
- Investing practically $133 million in grants by way of the Agricultural Advertising and marketing Service’s Native Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) that develop, coordinate, and develop producer-to-consumer advertising, native and regional meals markets, and native meals enterprises.
- Serving to little one diet program operators incorporate native meals by way of the Meals and Vitamin Providers Farm to College Program.
CFWR is a part of USDA’s broader efforts to advance fairness, help native and regional meals methods and entry to meals, and encourage use of conservation and climate-smart practices. For instance, this yr, USDA is investing as much as $70 million in Fairness in Outreach Cooperative Agreements to help outreach to underserved producers and communities about alternatives for pure useful resource conservation, climate-smart agriculture and forestry. Moreover, USDA’s Meals Programs Transformation Framework builds a extra resilient, fairer meals provide chain with extra and higher market choices for customers and producers whereas lowering carbon air pollution; makes nutritious meals extra accessible and inexpensive for customers; emphasizes fairness by creating wealth that stays in small cities and underserved communities.
USDA touches the lives of all Individuals every day in so many optimistic methods. Below the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is remodeling America’s meals system with a better deal with extra resilient native and regional meals manufacturing, fairer markets for all producers, making certain entry to secure, wholesome and nutritious meals in all communities, constructing new markets and streams of revenue for farmers and producers utilizing local weather sensible meals and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clear power capabilities in rural America, and committing to fairness throughout the Division by eradicating systemic obstacles and constructing a workforce extra consultant of America. To be taught extra, go to usda.gov.
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