Agricultural Marketing Service · Department of Agriculture
Regional Food System Partnership Fiscal Year 2026
Key facts
- Deadline
- Next round: about Apr 21 – Jun 5, 2027 Estimate, not confirmed by the funder ?
- Award size
- $100K – $1M
- Total available
- $4.7M · about 10 awards
- Match ?
- Required · Work out your budget and match
- Who can apply
- Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
- Where
- Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee
Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Get-ready checklist
How this fits you
- Available in Tennessee (nationwide program)
- Needs a match (see how much in the notice)
- Past Tennessee awards on file: 1
Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.
Official notice: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/c0204e72-e676-4d20-a60d-afb7baa42e2e · Printed from grantme.click/grants/a0050505-75e9-4bec-81e3-98f84000ead7
View on Grants.gov Add deadline to my calendar
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- Local Food Promotion Program Fiscal Year 2026 · Next round: about Apr 21 – Jun 5, 2027 Estimate, not confirmed by the funder
About this grant
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the 2026 Fiscal Year (FY) Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant program. RFSP purpose is to support partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local and regional food systems.RFSP is part of the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) umbrella program. AMS welcomes applications that meet LAMP goals (see section 3.1) to support the development, coordination, and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and enterprises, and value-added agricultural products.Approximately $4.71 million is available to fund applications under this solicitation. In FY2025, AMS funded 7 (6.5%) of the eligible applications received an awarded a total of $4,712,934.This announcement identifies the eligibility criteria for RFSP projects and applicants, and the application forms and associated instructions needed to apply for an RFSP grant. AMS will award these grants competitively to eligible applicants proposing high quality projects that meet the purpose and requirements of the program. All applications will be reviewed using merit and evaluation procedures.
Who can apply, from the official notice
See Section 2.2 Eligibility Section of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a full list of eligible applicants and eligible entities (partners).
Who in Tennessee has won this program
1 award to Tennessee groups in 1 county since 2024. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Resource Conservation & Development Council | Johnson City, Washington County | $132K spent that year | 2024 |
Source: Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.
About the federal program
Regional Food System Partnerships, also called “Regional Food System Partnership Program”
Program number 10.177 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service · Grant
How applications are judged
Applications will be evaluated based on the criteria established for the program and described in the RFA. The most current RFA is available via Grants.gov or www.ams.usda.gov/grants.
Match
A 25% cash match is required of the total Federal portion of the grant.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal year 2025: An RFSP project continues to engage diverse stakeholders along the food chain (institutions, producers, aggregators, and support organizations) in moving more local food through local institutions through: working groups focused on Land Access/Shared Assets, Value Chain Coordination, and Institutional Community of Practice; in-person trainings across Oregon for farmers, ranchers, fisherman, food hubs and food businesses regarding accessing institutional markets; in-person trainings for institutional food buyers on best practice for local food purchasing; and providing tailored support to producers/manufacturers for value added product development for institutions. To strengthen education and collaboration partnership led a four week course on understanding Value Chain Coordination for food hub; and identified 177 qualified institutions for sales potential in Oregon and made contact with 84 of those, resulting in sales with 26 institutions totaling approximately $70,000 in sales in just the last few months of the project.