MARBIDCO Certified Local Farm and Fish Food Aggregation Grant Fund Now Open    

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

MARBIDCO Certified Local Farm and Fish Food Aggregation Grant Fund Now Open            

ANNAPOLIS (January 21, 2025) – The Maryland Agriculture and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) has announced it is offering the Certified Local Farm and Fish Food Aggregation Grant Program for Certified Local Farm Enterprises and Certified Chesapeake Invasive Species Providers. The aggregation grant program opens on January 21, 2025. The establishment or expansion of local farm food aggregators in Maryland can help provide a link between the small farmer and the large-scale buyer such as a wholesaler or large institution that is looking to purchase locally grown food.

In 2023, the Maryland General Assembly altered the original Certified Local Farm Enterprise Program to become the Certified Local Farm and Fish Program; expanding the purpose of the program to include food from certified Chesapeake Invasive Species Providers in the overall percentage goal of 20% of State institutions total dollar value for certain food procurement contracts; and altering the Certified Local Farm Enterprise Food Aggregation Grant Fund to be the Certified Local Farm and Fish Food Aggregation
Grant Fund.

MARBIDCO’s grant program is designed to stimulate increased market access for small Maryland farmers who wish to sell to wholesale and institutional buyers. Maryland law encourages State agencies (including public four-year universities) to achieve an overall goal of purchasing 20% of food from certified local farm enterprises and certified Chesapeake Bay invasive species providers.

• A grant of between $25,000 and $100,000 is available.
• Applicants for the small-scale farmer-led aggregation grant must include at least four Certified Local Farm Enterprises or consist of one Certified Chesapeake Invasive Species Provider. For projects with a Certified Chesapeake Invasive Species Provider, they should be sourcing invasive species from at least four licensed commercial watermen.
• Applicants must provide at least a 20% match of private funds in the project.
• An example of a small-scale aggregation entity could include an Agricultural Product Aggregation and Distribution Entity, an entity (including a farming operation aggregator)working with at least 4 farms (or 3 if the applicant is a farm) that can expand to meet institutional/wholesale demand. Another example of a small-scale farmer aggregation entity could be a legally organized farm cooperative.
• The applicant must provide evidence that it will be selling a certain quantity of product to a wholesale or institutional buyer. This evidence could be in the form of a contract or letter of commitment specifying that it will purchase a certain amount of product.

Grant funds could be used to purchase cold storage equipment or construct an indoor processing facility in order to better handle products moving to wholesale and institutional buyers.

Public Sector Aggregation Project

• A grant of between $150,000 and $300,000 is available.
• Applicants for the public sector aggregation grant will be a public entity such as a county government, municipality, community college, university, county school system, or rural regional council.
• The grant is for public projects that plan to be primarily aggregation centers for wholesale and institutional distribution.
• If the applicant is the buyer, it would need to provide a commitment to purchase from at least four Certified Local Farm Enterprises or three Certified Local Farm Enterprises and one Certified Chesapeake Invasive Species Provider and include what it plans to purchase and the amount of each product.
• If the applicant is facilitating the aggregation, it would also need to provide evidence that it will aggregate produce from at least four Certified Local Farm Enterprises or three Certified Local Farm Enterprises and one Certified Chesapeake Invasive Species Provider and provide a commitment from a wholesaler or institutional buyer to purchase from the aggregation center.
• The grant requires at least a 20% match of funds in the project. A project of this size might also require a partnership of multiple entities and funding sources.

Grant applications must be submitted to MARBIDCO by February 28, 2025. Applications can be found at https://www.marbidco.org/certified-local-farm-fish-food-aggregation-grant. For more information about the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) Certified Local Farm and Fish Program or to become certified visit https://mda.maryland.gov/maryland_products/Pages/certified-local-farm.aspx.

Send completed grant applications and all attachments to MARBIDCO Local Farm and Fish Food Aggregation Grant Program, 1410 Forest Drive, Suite 21, Annapolis, MD 21403 or email to scriste@marbidco.org . For more information contact Sierra Criste, Financial Programs Specialist, at scriste@marbidco.org or call 410-267-6807.