As the 2023 Farm Bill takes shape, we hope to see Congress build on this work and follow the call to action to invest in, and truly transform, our food system for the next generation of farmers and agriculture professionals. These investments from USDA are critical, and yet they are only possible because of remaining funding from the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. The purpose of the MDAR Urban Agriculture Program is to advance Commonwealth goals and objectives, leverage collective resources, and support commercial projects designed to increase the production, processing, and marketing of produce grown and sold in urban centers across the Commonwealth. Expenditures will promote strategies to address food insecurity and to increase access of fresh, local produce in urban neighborhoods with a high concentration of low-moderate income residents.
Urban agriculture encompasses a wide variety of activities related to the growing of plants and the raising of animals for food including but not limited to: production techniques such as land-based outdoor and greenhouse cultivation, rooftop open air and greenhouse production, hydroponics, aquaculture, aquaponics, beekeeping and egg-producing poultry. Each project proposal must represent long-term, capital investments such as infrastructure improvements, building upgrades, purchase of computer software and systems, land procurement, and purchase of farm equipment. Projects will also foster youth development, small business development, and job training directly related to commercial urban farming.
What is the Urban Agriculture Program?
The purpose of the MDAR Urban Agriculture Program is to advance Commonwealth goals and objectives, leverage collective resources, and support commercial projects designed to increase the production, processing, and marketing of produce grown and sold in urban centers across the Commonwealth. Expenditures will promote strategies to address food insecurity and to increase access of fresh, local produce in urban neighborhoods with a high concentration of low-moderate income residents.
Who May Apply?
- Municipalities
- Nonprofit Organizations 501(c)(3)
- Public or non-profit educational or public health institutions
- Established urban farmer with more than three (3) years of commercial urban farming experience
What do I need to apply for the Urban Agriculture Program?
- Request for Response (RFR). See “downloads” below to download the Request for Response (RFR). This document outlines and explains all details, requirements, and instructions for the Urban Agriculture Program. The RFR will provide information, all necessary criteria, and detailed instructions for application requirements.
Email electronic version of proposal to: Rose.Arruda@mass.gov.
This program does not fund backyard produce or livestock raised for personal consumption.
MDAR’s Urban Agriculture Program seeks proposals that demonstrate strategies for municipalities to increase access to affordable, fresh food for urban residents address the challenges of small scale farming in densely populated centers, and create direct markets in low-moderate income neighborhoods.
Examples of Project Priorities:
- Soil Management: Initiatives that address the issues of soil quality in urban environments with particular emphasis on improving soil fertility in blighted areas;
- Land: Proposals for acquisition of land for food production in urban settings;
- Equipment: Mobile market vehicles, small farm equipment or hand tools;
- Marketing, Distribution, Transportation: Improve the transportation and distribution of locally grown products from farm to customer such as food hubs sourced from local urban farms or other innovative technologies designed to aid/improve cost-effective distribution of food produced on urban farms to urban residents;
- Green Infrastructure: Demonstrations of greenhouse, hoop house, cold frame and other technologies to help urban farmers scale up the volume, quality and enable year round production or to manage energy and water usage, or allow for more intensive and efficient food production in urban environments;
- Innovative Growing Technology: Demonstrate practical/economically viable approaches to urban aquaculture/aquaponics and vertical farming and other innovative growing methods to make available local sourced food and products to low-moderate income communities;
- Urban to Rural Bridge: Strengthen the connections between rural and urban agriculture, including but not limited to: innovative market models, technology, job creation and food production benefitting and sited within urban neighborhoods.
- Organic farming support: Capital infrastructure to support an urban farm’s transition to a certified organic organization.
Downloads to Apply for the Urban Agriculture Program
The timeline for organizations to apply to these funds will be quick. While that is not ideal, we understand it as the best path USDA has to get funding out the door and ensure it ends up in farmers’ hands. We will continue to learn more and understand how we can support partner organizations in accessing these funds over the coming weeks.
Farm Bill 2023 and the New Frontier of Urban Agriculture
The USDA recently announced how they intend to extend support for equitable land access at the federal level. USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a historic $550 million investment in “projects that enable underserved producers to access land, capital, and markets, and train the next, diverse generation of agricultural professionals.” This funding includes $300 million specifically for eligible organizations working to improve land access, access to capital, or market access for underserved producers.
Federal policy change is incremental and hard won. Sometimes it feels like our voices are not being heard. But this is a moment to celebrate. Your stories and your advocacy work have made a difference. So far this year, Land Advocacy Fellows have held 45 in-district meetings with members of Congress and their staff; and farmers in our network have participated in 10 farm bill field hearings and listening sessions as well as given testimony directly to the House Agriculture Committee. USDA has heard us: investing in equitable access to secure, affordable land cannot wait.
While this investment is far from everything we are asking for—and we know much more needs to change—this is a major acknowledgment of the challenges growers are facing, and we believe it will result in tangible access to resources on the ground for farmers and land stewards across the country.
List your business in our Directory to partner with local, regional and national organizations to learn more about the new funding for black farmers, business, and cooperatives over the coming months,
We ask your support by educating your community to Lift Every Voice to beacon Congress to provide direct funding to BIPOC community-led land access for New and Beginning Black Farmers. We know that black and brown farmers are not just burdened by century old historic challenges—but also by local efforts to stifle the brilliant talent of young and experienced innovators who know our backyards and can contribute to the solutions that we all need in these crucial times of food shortages from the impact of climate change.
Secretary Vilsack indicated that the USDA intends to make these investments in creative partnerships, including those led by;
“State governments, higher education institutions, 501c3s entities, foundations, community development investment funds, Tribes, or other minority-serving institutions,” and that the intention is to learn from these projects to inform future USDA program development. But he has left broken promises on deaf ears before.
Fully resourcing a transformation of our food systems will require consistent, strong, and historic re-investment to Black Farmers, specifically in BIPOC communities to remedy the ongoing harms of black land loss, heirs property, and fractional lands for equitable land access and transition. That is why we must take this momentum and keep pushing Congress to secure funding in the 2023 Farm Bill that is robust and long-lasting.
