Technical Assistance Available for Community Food Project Grant Applicants!

The Food Systems Leadership Network (FSLN) is thrilled to announce a new partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development Solutions to bolster the capacity of applicants and grantees of the NIFA-USDA Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (CFPCGP).

As a national network, FSLN’s programming reaches over 2,500 food systems leaders annually. We are well poised to leverage this extensive network to amplify awareness of the grant opportunity and deliver comprehensive training, technical assistance, and peer to peer learning to both applicants and grantees. FSLN’s wealth of resources and professional development opportunities will be readily available to CFPCGP applicants and grantees, ensuring a broader spectrum of leaders can access these capacity building services. Moreover, resources developed through the CFPCGP will be disseminated to a broad audience via the Food Systems Leadership Network.

This collaborative partnership between the FSLN, ISED, and CFPCGP applicants and grantees aims to equip food systems leaders with the tools, resources, and relationships needed to foster equitable and just food systems across the country.

Through this partnership, CFPCGP applicants and grantees will benefit from one-on-one technical assistance provided by Andy Fisher and Hugh Joseph, CFPCGP specialists and experts with ISED. They will also have access to a comprehensive CFPCGP resource library and discussion group, as well as a peer-to-peer Community Food Projects Community of Practice hosted by the FSLN.

All too often, support and technical assistance related to federal food systems grants are offered exclusively during either the application or implementation phases. This can leave applicants feeling ill-prepared to manage the grants they’ve received and limit the ability to develop knowledge and capacity to adhere to stringent grant guidelines. By adopting a holistic approach to providing technical assistance, the CFPCGP Technical Assistance Partnership bridges this gap, ensuring that CFPCGP Grantees receive guidance from the application phase all the way through to implementation and evaluation.

We look forward to working with Hugh Joseph and Andy Fisher to strengthen the leadership and technical skills of CFPCGP applicants and grantees who are building robust local and regional food systems in communities across the country. To learn more and access technical assistance, visit our webpage here.