Veteran farmers and small produce farmers are among the food producers who can benefit from special food safety training paid for with $10 million in new grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Through the grants, administered by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), growers, ranchers and other small-to midsized operations will gain access to training, technical assistance and other tools to help them meet requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011.
In all, 21 grants across the country will be designed to assist beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, veteran farmers, and small produce merchant wholesalers.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 48 million people in this country get sick from foodborne illnesses each year. Education and outreach are essential for ensuring our food supply is safe from the field to the table,” said NIFA Director Carrie Castille in the grant announcement.
“NIFS’s integrated approach to enhancing food safety practices includes multi-state coordination, community outreach and collaborative projects that enable small-scale processors to get the support they need,” she said.”
“This program helps deliver critical training and resources that equip our small business owners with tools to provide safe, high-quality food, strengthen their businesses and contribute to national nutrition security.”
The Food Safety Outreach Competitive Grant Program awards grants in three categories: Multistate Education and Training projects; Community Outreach projects; and Collaborative Engagement Supplements. In the federal fiscal year 2021, NiFA made 13 Collaborative Education and Training project awards, four Community Outreach project awards and four Regional enter awards.
Following are the grant-funded projects for this fiscal year.
| Title | Initial Award Yr |
Grant Yr | Prop No | Investigator | Institution | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHASE II FSMA EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING OUTREACH PROGRAM FOR SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS IN RURAL ALABAMA, GEORGIA, AND MISSISSIPPI | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05763 | Chaverest, E. | ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY NORMAL, ALABAMA |
BriefFull |
| BUILDING A FOOD SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM TO EMPOWER DISADVANTAGED PRODUCERS IN ALABAMA | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05761 | Hall, J. | AUBURN UNIVERSITY AUBURN, ALABAMA |
BriefFull |
| SOUTHERN REGIONAL CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY TRAINING, OUTREACH AND LEAD REGIONAL COORDINATION CENTER | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05641 | Schneider, K. R. | UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA |
BriefFull |
| ENGAGING ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER (AAPI) GROWER EDUCATIONAL NEEDS FOR SAFE FRUIT & VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN HI & CA | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05652 | Wages, S. A. | UNIV OF HAWAII HONOLULU, HAWAII |
BriefFull |
| COLLABORATIVE FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING FARMERS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05650 | Ryu, D. | UNIV OF IDAHO MOSCOW, IDAHO |
BriefFull |
| DEVELOPING AN ACTIVE-LEARNING OUTREACH PROGRAM TO SUPPORT SMALL AND VERY-SMALL DRIED FRUIT PROCESSORS� FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05764 | Feng, Y. | PURDUE UNIVERSITY WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA |
BriefFull |
| ENSURING FOOD SAFETY COMPETENCY OF PRODUCE GROWERS AND PROCESSORS IN THE NCR THROUGH EXPANDED COLLABORATION WITH DIVERSIFIED POPULATIONS | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05667 | Shaw, A. M. | IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY AMES, IOWA |
BriefFull |
| JUMPSTART TO FARM FOOD SAFETY – FARM FOOD SAFETY PLANNING FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED FARMS | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05610 | Machado, R. | UNIVERSITY OF MAINE ORONO, MAINE |
BriefFull |
| TRAIN: TARGETED RESOURCES ADDRESSING IDENTIFIED NEEDS IN MARYLAND WORKER FOOD SAFETY TRAINING VIA ON-FARM PILOTING OF A MIXED MEDIA TOOLKIT | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05651 | Henley, S. | UNIV OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND |
BriefFull |
| TRAINING BEGINNING, IMMIGRANT, AND ORGANIC SPECIALTY CROP PRODUCERS IN FSMA COMPLIANCE TO ACCESS WHOLESALE AND INSTITUTIONAL MARKETS | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05646 | Hashley, J. | TUFTS UNIVERSITY N. GRAFTON, MASSACHUSETTS |
BriefFull |
| SANITATION CONTROL PRACTITIONER PROGRAM (SCPP)- THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EDUCATION SANITATION PROGRAM FOR SMALL PROCESSORS | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05644 | Kinchla, A. J. | UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS |
BriefFull |
| CUSTOMIZING CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR SMALL AND VERY SMALL FOOD FACILITIES ACROSS THE U.S. | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05759 | Chaves Elizondo, B. | UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN, NEBRASKA |
BriefFull |
| GROWING THE CULTURE, COLLABORATION, AND CAPACITY OF FARMER TO FARMER FOOD SAFETY TRAININGS | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05645 | Dominguez, C. | La Semilla Food Center Anthony, NEW MEXICO |
BriefFull |
| ITIPS: INTERACTIVE TOOLS TO IMPROVE THE PRACTICE OF FOOD SAFETY | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05654 | Flores, N. | NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO |
BriefFull |
| INCREASING ACCESSIBILITY OF FOOD SAFETY RESOURCES FOR FARMERS AND SMALL FOOD PROCESSORS IN NORTHWEST NEW MEXICO | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05769 | Reyes, L. | SAN JUAN COLLEGE FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO |
BriefFull |
| MULTI-MODAL DAIRY FOOD SAFETY PLAN EDUCATION TO SUPPORT SMALL AND MEDIUM DAIRY PRODUCERS | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05658 | Alcaine, S. | CORNELL UNIVERSITY ITHACA, NEW YORK |
BriefFull |
| DIVERSIFIED FARM FSMA TRAINING INITIATIVE | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05659 | McSwain, K. | CAROLINA FARM STEWARDSHIP ASSOCIATION PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA |
BriefFull |
| WESTERN REGIONAL CENTER TO ENHANCE FOOD SAFETY: FOSTERING COLLABORATION THROUGH CONTINUED FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION AND STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05670 | Kovacevic, J. | OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CORVALLIS, OREGON |
BriefFull |
| CLOSING THE GAPS: FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05668 | Yemmireddy, V. K. | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN EDINBURG, TEXAS |
BriefFull |
| NORTHEAST CENTER TO ADVANCE FOOD SAFETY (NECAFS) | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05640 | Newbold, E. J. | UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT BURLINGTON, VERMONT |
BriefFull |
| INTERTRIBAL PRODUCE-FOOD SAFETY TRAINING FOR FARM-GROWN AND TRADITIONAL FOODS | 2021 | 2021 | 2021-05762 | Mears, J. | WISCONSIN TRIBAL CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL, INC. ONEIDA, WISCONSIN |
BriefFull |
About NIFA: The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and Extension Services across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. In the federal fiscal year 2020, NIFA’s total investment was $1.95 billion.
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