Farmer Fund

A PT Food Coop Grant Program

2024 Funds Available

$79,276.67

Thanks to our generous members and customers, we have exceeded our fundraising expectations for this year’s Farmer Fund Grants. Your ongoing support will help strengthen our local food systems for years to come.

APPLICATIONS CLOSED for THIS YEAR.

Our Purpose

The purpose of The Food Co-op Farmer Fund Grant Program is to help our local farmers and producers strengthen their capacity, making our community more resilient. Donations to fund the grant program are collected at the register and on the Co-op’s website.

Proposals are due by November 30, 2024, and the grants will be decided in January by our Community Engagement Committee, made up of board members, staff, and member-owners. Funds will be available in January.

This application is a little more in-depth than last year’s inaugural questionnaire, because we realized more information would help the decision-making process.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible applicants include all farmers and food producers who:

  • Grow food in Jefferson County, and/or

  • Use food grown in Jefferson County to make their product.

NOTE: You do not need to be a Co-op vendor to apply for this grant.

PROGRAM DETAILS

  • The number and amount of the grants will depend on how much money has been raised. In 2024, we have $79,276.67, thanks to the generosity of our member-owners!

  • Funds may be used for such things as machinery, construction, supplies, infrastructure development, services, maintenance, or other resources necessary for strengthening the applicant’s business.

  • Grants are not directly related to selling products to the Co-op, so you don’t need to worry about that process when applying.

  • When a grant is awarded, we’ll use information from your application, take photos, and visit your farm/operation to tell your story and the story of your project in our communications.

GRANTEE REQUIREMENTS

  1. Grantee agrees not to use any funds for lobbying or political activities.

  2. Grantee will write a report by September 1, 2025, detailing the project, what was learned, changes to the plan, and results of the project, along with photos.

  3. Grantee agrees to permit the Food Co-op to use information from the grant proposal, along with photos, for media relations, the website, and annual reports. This helps keep members informed about how their donations are being utilized.

EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS

Criteria we consider:

Criteria we consider:

  • The project accomplishes at least one of the following for the applicant:

    • expands their production and/or distribution of food;

    • increases their efficiency; and/or

    • helps strengthen their business.

  • The project adds to the resilience of our local agricultural economy and/or the health of our foodshed. To support these goals, preference will be given to:

    • farms that increase diversity in our agricultural economy;

    • projects that nurture historically marginalized communities and/or farmers or producers from historically marginalized groups, such as Black and indigenous people, women, people with disabilities, LBGTQIA+ community;

    • projects that increase the applicant's environmental sustainability;

    • projects that enhance our food shed;

    • farms that use regenerative farming practices;

    • farms that work cooperatively with or purchase directly from other local farmers, producers, or businesses.

  • The applicant has a specific plan for how to use the grant money.

  • The mission, values, practices, and behavior of the applicant do not conflict with our mission and values.

  • The applicant has demonstrated support for the cooperative economy.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications are due to The Food Co-op by November 30, 2024.

Submit your application online by clicking the button below.

Questions? See our FAQ, email our Marketing Manager Andrea Stafford at AndreaS@FoodCoop.Coop

Farmer Fund FAQs

  • YES

  • No, you could also produce dairy or meat.

  • No, but you need to produce food for our community. You could grow food for the food bank, for instance.

  • Yes

  • No. Our goal is to increase our county’s food resilience, so we want to encourage food grown here.

  • Yes, if you haven’t received more than $1000 in grant funds from the Co-op during the prior year. You may receive other kinds of funds or help and still apply.

  • Yes, if local ingredients are used.

  • Yes. Local fishermen and women traditionally fish in the waters of Alaska, but the business must be in Jefferson County.

  • No. We hope you will sell through the Co-op some day, but the grants are about increasing the food resilience of our community.

  • One definition, from the Handbook of Research on Race, Culture and Student Achievement, refers to people who are ”systematically excluded from full participation in the society and encounter barriers to achieving their potential.” People who have been marginalized include women, Black and indigenous people, people with disabilities, those who don’t conform to gender norms, etc.

  • You can join the Food Co-op’s Community Engagement Committee. There are three slots for members-at-large on the committee. You must attend committee meetings for six months before becoming a voting member.