NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program; 2024 Application Period
[54 Pa.B. 150]
[Saturday, January 13, 2024]The Department of Agriculture (Department) announces the program requirements and application period for The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (Program) under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Marketing Service. Grants will be distributed to qualified applicants. The Program aims to create more diverse local and regional market options and create more economic opportunities for communities, allowing them to retain more of the value chain dollar. The Department intends to make up to $19,311,559 available for grants under the Program.
1. Definitions.
The following words and terms have the following meanings:
Department—The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
Middle of-the-supply-chain—Activities that take place after the production of the agricultural product but before the product is sold to consumers. These activities include the processing, aggregation and distribution of agricultural products between leaving the field and entering the marketplace.
Program—Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program.
SBA—The United States Small Business Administration.
Secretary—The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.
2. Program objectives.
(a) Purpose. The purpose of the Program is to expand capacity and infrastructure for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling or distribution of targeted local and regional agricultural products. This Program is intended to support food system crops and products meant for human consumption. Ineligible products include meat and poultry products which are funded through other USDA programs, wild-caught seafood, animal feed and forage products, fiber, landscaping products, tobacco and dietary supplements.
(b) Applicants:
(1) The following are eligible to apply for grants under the Program:
(i) Agricultural producers or processors, or groups of agricultural producers and processors.
(ii) Nonprofit organizations operating middle of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation or distribution of targeted agricultural products.
(iii) For-profit entities operating middle of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation or distribution of targeted agricultural products, whose activities are primarily focused for the benefit of local and regional producers and that meet the eligibility requirements of the SBA small business size standards.
(iv) Local government entities operating middle of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation or distribution of targeted agricultural products.
(v) Tribal governments operating middle of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation or distribution of targeted agricultural products.
(vi) Institutions such as schools, universities or hospitals bringing producers together to establish cooperative or shared infrastructure or investing in equipment that will benefit multiple producers' middle of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation or distribution of targeted agricultural products.
(2) For-profit entities must meet the eligibility requirements of the SBA small business size standards matched to industries described in the North American Industry Classification System. For more information on these size standards, visit SBA's Size Standards web site at https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards. For a quick check on whether a business qualifies, use the Size Standards Tool.
(3) Applicant businesses and organizations must be domestically owned and applicants' facilities must be physically located within this Commonwealth. Applicants doing business along the Commonwealth's border should only apply in one state to avoid duplication of Federal funds.
(c) Activities include:
(1) Hiring term-limited personnel to assist with project implementation activities.
(2) Purchasing special purpose equipment as defined in section 8.2 of the USDA AMS General Terms and Conditions. This includes the purchase of special purpose equipment for institutions or others that will benefit multiple producers through middle of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation or distribution of targeted agricultural product.
(3) Analyzing potential facility upgrades and changes that meet regulatory requirements, obtaining design or architecture services and the like (to the extent these costs are directly related to the project).
(4) Planning for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points or other food safety or worker safety measures or equipment recommendations.
(5) Upgrades or new facilities for processing specific agricultural products, including on farm processing or processing by an aggregator or cooperative, such as the following:
• On-farm post-harvest processing, preservation, storage/cold storage, cleaning and grading.
• Warehouse and storage, purchase of freezing equipment, freezer or cold storage.
• Processing, canning, preserving and pasteurization;
• Making products shelf-stable.
• Preparation and packing.
• Drying, hulling, shelling and milling.
• Cooking, baking, juicing, distilling and fermenting.
(d) Project funding priorities: The Department will prioritize eligible projects that pertain to the following gaps identified in the middle of-the-supply-chain in this Commonwealth:
• Projects submitted directly by growers, producers, processors, shippers and the like that support middle of-the-supply-chain activities.
• Projects that benefit historically underserved farmers as defined by the USDA, socially disadvantaged farmers as defined by AB 1348, the Farmer Equity Act of 2017 or agricultural operations that qualify as small, disadvantaged businesses, women-owned businesses or veteran-owned businesses as defined by the SBA.
• Projects that enhance worker safety or facilitate compliance with the Produce Safety Rule of the Food Safety Modernization Act.
• ''Shovel Ready'' construction and infrastructure projects that can reasonably be completed within the grant duration.
• Projects that facilitate training opportunities, including training related to food safety, process modernization and use of equipment or enhanced facilities funded through the Program.
• Projects that further dairy processing in this Commonwealth.
• Projects that further value added processing for fruits and vegetables.
• Projects that focus on organic commodities, particularly processing.
• Projects that will serve food deserts as defined by the USDA census.
(e) Competitive program: The Program is competitive. Grant requests and related documentation will be reviewed by the Department, which will approve or reject each grant request.
(f) Funds available basis: Grants will only be awarded to the extent that funds are available for this purpose. The Department need not expend all the funds that are available for the Program.
3. Limitations on grants: The amount of a grant shall be between $100,000 and $3 million. Grant recipients are required to contribute 50% of the total proposed project cost as a match to Federal funding. This applies to all applicants except those who qualify for the reduced match. For historically underserved farmers and ranchers or for other businesses that qualify under SBA categories of small, disadvantaged business, women-owned small business or veteran-owned small business, the required match funding contribution or cost share is reduced to 25% of the project cost. The Department will require that applicants self-certify in their grant applications that they are eligible for this reduced match. A grant is a reimbursement grant, which means no payment of grant funds will be made by the Department until the applicant has provided documentation to the Department evidencing the completion of work in accordance with this notice and the terms and conditions of the executed grant agreement described in section 7 as follows. Request for reimbursement may be submitted once at the end of the grant period.
4. Uses of grant funds:
(a) Conformity to application. Grant funds awarded to an applicant shall be expended solely to reimburse the cost of the specific activities described in the grant application.
(b) Allowable expenditures of grant funds. Grant funds may be expended to pay for any of the activities previously listed in section 2.(c).
5. Applications:
(a) Application required: Interested applicants shall submit grant applications to the Department. An application shall include a detailed work plan and project budget.
(b) Project starting and completion dates: An application shall designate July 1, 2024, or a later date, as the project start date and May 24, 2027, or earlier, as the project completion date. Program grant funds will not be awarded or paid for project activities that occur before the stated project start date or after the stated project completion date.
(c) Electronic applications only: Interested applicants must submit a complete electronic project proposal and grant application using the Department's Electronic Single Application web site at http://www.esa.dced. state.pa.us.
(d) Application window: Applications shall be submitted by 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, 2024.
6. Notice of disposition of application:
The Department will e-mail notice of the acceptance or rejection of a grant application by Wednesday, May 1, 2024. This notice will be e-mailed to the address provided by the applicant in the grant application.
7. Grant agreement:
After the Secretary approves a grant application, and as a precondition to the Department's release of grant moneys to a successful applicant, the Department and the applicant shall execute a written or electronic grant agreement which establishes the terms and conditions subject to which the grant is made. The grant agreement will not be effective, and work should not begin, until all required signatures have been applied to the grant agreement. The grant agreement will contain and conform to the requirements of this notice and will also contain special terms and conditions as required by the Secretary. Among the terms of the grant agreement will be a requirement that the grant recipient provide the Department full and complete access to all records relating to the performance of the project and submit the information as the Department may require. Applicants who wish to view the full terms and conditions of the grant agreement in advance of submitting an application may contact the Department at the phone number or e-mail address in section 11. Applicants who are unable to agree to the terms and conditions should not apply.
8. Verification of project completion:
(a) Within 30 days of completion of the project, the applicant shall provide the Department with proof of the completion of the project and eligibility to receive reimbursement grant funds from the Department.
(b) Required documentation: The proof described in subsection (a) shall consist of:
(1) Copies of invoices for goods or services directly related to the project, confirming that the total billed amount is at least the amount of the grant, along with the written certification of the president or treasurer of the applicant that the goods or services that are the subject of the invoices have been delivered or provided to the applicant.
(2) A certificate of completion, signed by the applicant or its president or treasurer, verifying completion of the project and stating that the grant funds will reimburse the applicant for costs incurred by the applicant in completing the project.
(3) A brief narrative describing the work completed, including any available metrics.
9. Delivery of grant funds by the Department: The Department will pay the grant amount to the applicant in a single payment within 45 days of receiving the proof of completion previously described in section 8.
10. Reporting requirements: Within 60 days of completing the project, grant recipients will submit a final report to the Department detailing the Program's results based upon the evaluation method proposed in the application.
11. Questions and additional information: Questions on this Program, including the online application process, may be directed to the Bureau of Market Development, Department of Agriculture, 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9408, (717) 257-6550, RA-AgBusiness@ pa.gov.
RUSSELL REDDING,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-42. Filed for public inspection January 12, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
