FY25 Agricultural Innovation Grant Program

Overview

The Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), with funding made possible through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture/Office of the Food Security Advocate, is pleased to offer this competitive grant opportunity for agricultural innovation and infrastructure projects. The intent is to support New Jersey’s farmers, farming cooperatives, aggregators, and agriculture nonprofit organization to strengthen ties with the emergency feeding sector.   

Grants will be a minimum of $2,500 and a maximum of $25,000 per awardee. Individual items above $10,000 in cost will require presentation of three (3) cost quotes from three different vendors. Only one award will be issued per farm/business/organization/project.

This is a time-sensitive grant opportunity with a short spending period. Awardees must be able to complete the project by June 30, 2025. Matching funds are not required.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Location: Applicants must be located in the following 15 counties that are within the service areas of CFBNJ and/or its affiliate food banks, Mercer Street Friends and Norwescap: Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren.
• Businesses Operations: For-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations must be in operation for a minimum of one year.
• Proof of secure land tenure: Proof of ownership or a lease, license, or other written agreement for a reasonable time period will be required. If land tenure is for less than three years, applicants should explain how the tenure is sufficient in relation to the improvements being made or purchased.
• Ownership of Item(s) Purchased: Applicants requesting funding for purchase of equipment, tool, or supplies agree to maintain ownership and primary use of said purchases for at least three (3) years following the grant award. Equipment rentals are not permissible.
• Permitting: Any municipal permits required for improvements, installations, or projects associated with grant funds are the sole responsibility of the applicant.

Examples of eligible projects include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Build, repair, or improve farm buildings, service buildings, including walk-in coolers, irrigation equipment, wash/pack structures, fencing, livestock facilities, etc.
• Purchasing farm equipment, implements, or tools such as tractors, tractor implements, equipment, tools, fencing, trellising, high/low tunnels, and post-harvest equipment.
• Soil and Water Conservation Projects
• Projects that build aggregation models where producers can donate and/or sell produce for distribution to food security organizations, such as web-based portals to allow growers to share notifications about leftovers and seconds for pantries and EFOs.
• Establish and/or improve key farm infrastructure for community-oriented farming projects that have a measurable impact beyond the individual applicant/organization.
• Bar coding equipment to allow for scanning and creation of farm-specific codes indicating grower and harvest dates.
• Inventory systems
• FMNP/EBT – ability to accept SNAP, WIC, and S-EBT at farm stands.
• Web-based portals to allow growers to share notifications about leftovers and seconds for pantries and EFOs.

Key Dates

• Grant spending period: April 7, 2025 – June 30, 2025
• Application opens via the SMApply portal: February 26, 2025
• Virtual office hours for orientation, questions, and technical assistance via Zoom:
  • March 5th from 3 – 5 p.m.
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87513558873?pwd=f6YBj6aiT1NbDnUsOMbMTPdtw0FbY5.1
    Meeting ID: 875 1355 8873
    Passcode: 888069
  • March 13th from 5 – 7 p.m.
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89011114393?pwd=hbV0UJNI92Yohhl7fYvaayrTpmraT0.1
    Meeting ID: 890 1111 4393
    Passcode: 497982
• Application due date: March 26th
• Mid-term written check-in due through SMApply: May 19th
• Final report and invoices due through SMApply: July 14th

More Details

• To learn more about the FY25 funding opportunity, please read the Grant Notice
• For a preview of the application questions that will appear in SurveyMonkey Apply, the grant application portal, click here for the Microsoft Word version, or here for a PDF.
• To apply for the Grant, click here
• All communications regarding grant updates and other information will come from the email address noreply@mail.smapply.net. Please make sure these emails do not go into your spam folder.

Questions and Clarification

In the spirit of ensuring equitable consideration for this grant opportunity within a brief application window, thank you for submitting all inquiries via email only. All questions and/or clarification requests should be submitted via email to aggrants@cfbnj.org.

Apply Online