September 30, 2024
AFID Infrastructure Grant Program Fall Application Period Begins October 1
~ Grant applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Nov. 15, 2024 ~

The application period for fall round of the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Infrastructure Grant program begins on October 1 and ends on Nov. 15, 2024. Administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the AFID Infrastructure Grant program was created in 2021 to support locally identified investments that aid small-scale farmers and food producers in growing their operations. To be eligible for the grant award, projects should directly support local food production and forestry while also demonstrating a broad community benefit. Priority project areas include new and existing food hubs, farmers’ markets, commercial kitchens, and other value-added facilities such as those used for processing and packaging meats, dairy products, produce, or other Virginia-grown products. Grant funds should be used primarily for capital expenditures.

Applications must be made by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth, such as a county, city, town, industrial and economic development authority, or planning district commission. Grant applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Nov. 15, 2024. The maximum award per grant is $50,000.

Localities are encouraged to work with small farmers, food producers, local food systems advocates, and others interested in building their community’s local food and farming infrastructure. This competitive grant requires an equal cash match from the locality, with reduced match available for economically distressed localities.

This grant program has two funding rounds in each fiscal year. The first round is an open application period in the fall, with a target award announcement date of December 31. The second round is also an open application period in the spring, with a target award announcement date of June 30.

For more information on the AFID Infrastructure Program, please contact John Kowalewski at (804) 225-4535 or at John.Kowalewski@vdacs.virginia.gov.