EPA Local Foods, Local Places Federal Assistance Grant

Announcement of Federal Assistance for Sustainable Communities
Application deadline: 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, September 15, 2015

Communities are invited to apply for technical assistance through a new round of Local Foods, Local Places. Please read this announcement first, then click here for the online application form.

Local Foods, Local Places will provide direct technical support to selected communities. A team of experts will help community members develop action plans that use local foods to support healthy families and communities and to drive downtown and neighborhood revitalization. The assistance process features a community workshop that brings people together to develop shared goals and steps to achieve them.

Together, EPA, USDA, CDC, DOT, ARC, and DRA are investing $800,000 in this round of Local Foods, Local Places.

Eligibility and Special Considerations
Representatives of communities (including neighborhoods or main street districts) anywhere in the United States are eligible to apply. We encourage applications from communities that are economically challenged and in the early phases of their efforts to promote local foods and community revitalization. Special consideration will be given to communities in federally designated Promise Zones or USDA StrikeForce counties.

Local Foods, Local Places supports the White House Rural Council‘s “Rural Impact” effort, a coordinated approach across federal agencies to improve quality of life and upward mobility for kids and families in rural and tribal communities. If your community’s needs and goals include helping low-income families and kids stay healthy, please highlight that in your letter of interest. Communities are strongly encouraged to seek the support of their local development district or regional development organization, or, alternatively, a local community college or university.

Communities that are selected for the program and that are located in the federally designated Appalachia region or the federally designated Delta region may be eligible for implementation support beyond that provided through the technical assistance process.

How to Apply
Click here to go to the online application form. You will answer some basic questions about your community and then submit a letter of interest of no more than two pages. Applications can be submitted by local governments or by nongovernmental organizations.

Your letter of interest should describe your community’s needs and goals related to local food as a driver of economic development and walkable, healthy, economically vibrant places. There is no required content, but you may wish to have your letter address these questions:

• What challenges does your community face around downtown or neighborhood revitalization?
• What actions has your community taken so far to overcome these challenges?
• How do you propose to use local foods as a strategy to help address some of these challenges?
• How would technical assistance through Local Foods, Local Places help you achieve your goals?
• What other partners will be involved in planning and implementing your action plan, such as public agencies and institutions, non-governmental organizations, foundations, businesses, and farmers? Will local elected officials be supportive?
• What commitments can you make to implement the action plan that our technical assistance team will help you develop?

Applicants will be evaluated on how well the project can help create walkable, healthy, economically vibrant neighborhoods through the development of local food systems. Selected projects will support one or more of USDA’s Seven Strategies for Economic Development and the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities’ Livability Principles.

Applications must be submitted via the online form by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 15, 2015. Contact Ed Fendley at lflp@epa.gov with questions.