MARBIDCO Announces New Maryland Producer Cold Storage Grant Program

 ***PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING RELEASE FROM THE MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE-BASED INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION***

ANNAPOLIS, MD- (September 19, 2022) – The Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) is offering a new Maryland Producer Cold Storage Grant Program to assist farmers and watermen with purchasing cold storage equipment needed for their operations during the fall of 2022.  Matching grants of up to $1,000 are now available. 

Having access to adequate cold storage facilities is frequently cited as a need, especially by smaller farm operations, so hopefully the availability of these grant funds will incentivize cold storage equipment purchases by food producing enterprises. MARBIDCO will match up to 50% of the cost of the project purchase, with a maximum grant award amount being $1,000. 

Eligible applicants include farmers and watermen with at least $1,000 in agricultural or seafood product sales annually.  The applications may come from sole proprietorships, partnerships, cooperatives, and LLCs.  Agricultural products may include produce, livestock, shellfish, or horticultural products that are grown on the applicant’s farm. Seafood products include finfish and shellfish products that are harvested in Maryland.

The grant funds and matching funds must be used to purchase and install cold storage equipment. Eligible tangible equipment that may be purchased include large coolers, ice machines, on-boat or on-dock cold storage, reach-in refrigerator/freezer, walk-in refrigerator/freezer, on-truck cold storage (does not include costs related to purchase a truck), third-party costs related to installation of a cold storage unit.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and the deadline is October 31, 2022 (electronic submissions are encouraged). The minimum grant amount is $200 and the maximum S1,000.

Application forms are available on MARBIDCO’s website: www.marbidco.org.

For more information, please call Sierra Criste at 410.267.6807 or send application forms electronically to scriste@marbidco.org or mail to: MARBIDCO, Cold Storage Grant Program, c/o Sierra Criste, 1410 Forest Drive, Suite 21, Annapolis, MD 21403

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MARBIDCO was established by the Maryland General Assembly fifteen years ago to enhance the sustainability and profitability of the State’s agricultural and resource-based industries and to help bolster rural economies, support locally produced food and fiber products, and preserve working farm and forest land. MARBIDCO is a nimble, quasi-public financial intermediary organization that has a mission to serve exclusively the commercial farming, forestry, and seafood industries of Maryland. Young and beginning farmers are a special focus for MARBIDCO, as is farm operation diversification. In delivering its financing programs, MARBIDCO works cooperatively with commercial banks and farm credit associations, as well as a host of federal, State, regional, and local government agencies, and universities. Since 2007, MARBIDCO has approved more than 1,100 financings totaling $90.1 million for food and fiber business projects located in of all Maryland’s counties – and in the process has leveraged more than $170 million in commercial lender financing. For more information about MARBIDCO’s programs, please visit: www.marbidco.org