The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is seeking public comments through Aug. 11, 2023, on funding priorities being developed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). The RFSI program aims to develop and administer state-coordinated initiatives to build the resilience of the state’s food supply chain for food crops. Hawai‘i has been earmarked for $3.2 million in block grant funding; however, the program requires HDOA to conduct outreach to stakeholders to determine the priorities for the state application.
In partnership with the USDA, the HDOA will administer competitive solicitation to award grants to support infrastructure in the middle of the supply chain for local food and farm businesses and other eligible entities.
Funds will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry. Examples of eligible project objectives include:
- Modernizing processing and manufacturing equipment
- Supporting the construction of a new facility
- Modernizing or expanding an existing facility
- Improving operations through training opportunities
- Modernizing manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems
- Improving the capacity to comply with federal, state, and local food safety requirements
- Enhancing worker safety through the adoption of new technologies or investment in equipment or facility improvements
To learn more or provide comments, please visit https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/blog/main/nr23-13-rfsi/.
Last modified: August 1, 2023
