Extension, USDA offering free grant-writing workshops for farmers markets and local food initiatives

Friday, March 13, 2015

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service is partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Regional Rural Development Centers to offer free grant-writing workshops.

Aimed at producers and business owners with retail operations serving local and regional markets, the workshops are designed to encourage applications to the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion federal grant programs.

Workshops will take place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Muskogee (March 24), Shawnee (April 1), Sayre (April 7), Norman (April 14) and Enid (April 15).

To reserve a seat in one of the workshops, register online at http://bit.ly/1CaKUO2.

The goal of the workshops is to put interested businesses and communities in the best position to successfully apply for grants that support local and regional food initiatives, said Dave Shideler, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension community development specialist.

“Hopefully, these workshops encourage more communities and businesses in Oklahoma to compete for these funds to develop and implement ideas that create terrific economic opportunities and help meet the growing demand for locally and regionally produced food,” Shideler said.

Workshop topics will include developing an idea for a proposal, preparing a proposal, preparing an application package and post-award management requirements. There also will be discussions about estimating project costs, tools and strategies for assessing the impact of a proposed project and evaluation criteria used by proposal reviewers.

Three different grants are available through the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion programs. Farmers Market Promotion program grants range from $15,000 to $100,000 for 24 months and the Local Food Promotion program provides 12-month planning grants between $5,000 and $25,000 and implementation grants at $25,000 to $100,000 for up to 2 years.

“These grant programs give business owners and communities a lot of flexibility, whether their ideas are in the early developmental stages or they are ready to expand their operations,” Shideler said.

Participation in a workshop does not guarantee funding for proposals.

For more information, call or email the contact person listed for each workshop.