May 2024 || Newsletter Edition 166
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In this issue:
CSU Food Systems Spotlight
Mark Your Calendar
Funding Opportunities
News, Resources, and Reading
From Our Communities
About Us
Stay Connected
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CSU Food Systems Spotlight
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Maggie Switzer
Farmers Market and Food Systems Coordinator, Larimer County Extension
Maggie has a Masters in Public Health from Emory University in Atlanta, GA and she has previous experience in different areas of food systems, including food access, farmers markets, nutrition education, food waste and local sustainable agriculture. In her current role she is focused on managing the Larimer County Farmers' Market, as well as addressing barriers faced by local producers related to commercial markets. Maggie also is an advocate for food access, especially local and healthy food purchasing.
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Food Safety Training for
Colorado Cottage Foods Producers
Learn how to safely produce food from home as a cottage food business. This online course covers a variety of topics, including: basic food safety, foods that are permissible under the updated Colorado Cottage Foods Act, ingredient labeling, special considerations for food preparation at high altitudes, and safe food sampling best practices.
Registration is $50; times are all in Mountain Standard or Daylight.
Courses will be offered online on the following dates. Click each date below to register and learn more about the program. For additional dates, check here.
CSU Extension Cottage Food Safety Training Online:
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May 30, 12:00 pm - 3:30 pm, online
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May 30, 12:00 pm - 3:30 pm, in-person El Paso County
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June 5, 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm, online (includes a 30-minute business basics section)
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June 10, 10:00 am - 1:30 pm, in-person El Paso County
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June 14, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm, online
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Join the 2024 Archuleta Food Summit
Strengthen connections with food system stakeholders and the community at the 2024 Archuleta County Regional Food Summit on May 11th, 2024 from 8:00am to 1:00pm at the Pagosa Springs High School.
Learn more about growing and eating locally.
More information and registration can be found here.
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National Annie's Project Virtual Facilitator Training in May
The National Annie's Project is offering another virtual facilitator training in May on the dates listed below. Annie's project is a non-profit organization whose goal is to empower women in agriculture through education, networks, and resources. All 8 hours must be completed to be certified as an Annie's Project facilitator.
All sessions are virtual and free. Register here.
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May 28: 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm CDT
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May 29: 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm CDT
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The Offal Party: Pet Edition
The CSU Ag Innovation Center at SPUR invites you to the Offal Party: Pet Edition.
The Offal Party: Pet Edition is an opportunity to:
Learn
- How to build and supply your pet food brand with sustainability in mind
- Regulatory requirements you need to be aware of so you can be set up for success
- Imagine marketing messages that will allow you to differentiate your offal products from others in the marketplace
Discover
- Resources to support your offal pet journey
Connect
- With offal suppliers, offal entrepreneurs, and pet food & treat experts
Snack
- On fabulous offal products such as heart birria tacos, while you contemplate your offal next steps
The Offal Party: Pet Edition will be held:
Monday, June 10, 2024 | 2- 4pm
At CSU Spur on 4777 National Western Dr. Denver, CO 80216
In person and virtual options available.
Who Should Attend:
The Offal Party welcomes all people who want to be a part of a regenerative, circular food system that supports human, animal, and environmental health, including ranchers, processors, pet food and treat entrepreneurs, pet industry advisors, and pet owners who care about feeding their furry friends regeneratively.
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Crop Wild Relatives and Wild Utilized Plants Symposium
Please join this symposium to assess progress toward conserving North American crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants. We invite the unique perspectives of botanic gardens, Indigenous groups, land managers, researchers, breeders, and seed and gene banks as we discuss future conservation priorities for this important group of plants.
When: September 17-19, 2024 at the Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, Colorado.
Interested in attending? Sign up to receive symposium notifications here.
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USDA Announces 2024 Farmers Market Promotion Program Funding
The Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) funds projects that develop, coordinate and expand direct producer-to-consumer markets to help develop local and regional food systems.
The FY 2024 grant application period is open through May 14, 2024.
For more information on the FMPP grant program, click here.
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USDA Announces 2024 Local Food Promotion Program Funding
The Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products.
The FY 2024 grant application period is open through May 14, 2024.
For more information on the LFPP grant program, click here.
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USDA Announces 2024 Regional Food System Partnerships Funding
The Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) program supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The program focuses on building and strengthening the viability and resilience of local or regional food economies through collaboration and coordination. RFSP supports public-private partnerships that plan and develop relationships between local and regional producers, processors, intermediaries, and institutional markets or institutional food service operations through local and regional producers and local and regional food systems.
The FY 2024 grant application period is open through May 14, 2024.
For more information on the RFSP grant program, click here.
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USDA Announces Funding for the 2024 GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program
The GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program presents the opportunity to bring together stakeholders from various parts of the food and healthcare systems to foster understanding of how they might improve the health and nutrition status of participating households.
NIFA requests applications for the GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program to support and evaluate projects intended to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by providing incentives at the point of purchase among income eligible consumers participating in the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands, in addition to income-eligible consumers participating in the USDA Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.
Applications are due May 14, 2024.
To apply, download the RFA, or to register for the informational webinar, click here.
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Food Loss and Food Waste Reduction Grants Available
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) is offering a training and technical assistance grant program related to reducing food waste. The program will support projects whose goal is to reduce food loss and waste, get excess supply of food to households in need, and develop networks between food producers, providers, and food recovery organizations
Projects will span three (3) years, beginning on Sept. 1, 2024. Roughly two (2) to four (4) projects, capped at $1 million per proposal with an expected grant size of $500,000, are anticipated to be funded per SARE region: Southern SARE, North Central SARE, Northeast SARE, and Western SARE. A total of $8 million is available nationally for the CFP Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grant program.
Apply by June 28, 2024 at 5 p.m. EST.
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Regenerative Practices Grant Funding Available
Restore Grants has announced another round of funding for farmers and ranchers in California and Colorado who are using regenerative practices that sequester carbon. This may include cover cropping, prescribed grazing, hedgerow establishment, and more.
The deadline to apply is July 20th, 2024. For more information, click here.
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Rural Development Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loans Available
These loans will be available to projects that are starting or expanding activities in the middle of the food supply chain. For example, the program will support new investments in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, wholesaling, and distribution. Applications will be accepted until funds are exhausted.
Colorado contact information for Rural Development and its regional offices can be found at:
Robert McElroy, the Rural Business & Cooperative Services Program Director with the Colorado State Office is eager to discuss this opportunity with anyone who has a potential project. His email is: robert.mcelroy@usda.gov.
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News, Resources & Reading
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2022 Agricultural Census Data Released
Data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture are now available! The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The Census of Agriculture, taken once every five years, looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income, and expenditures.
Here are some interesting food system statistics for the US & Colorado.
- U.S. local, regional and value-added food sales totaled over $23 billion, including $3.3 billion in direct sales (117,000 farms), $14.2 in intermediated sales (60,000 farms) and $5.7 in value-added products (almost 38,000 farms).
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For Colorado, local and regional food sales included over $30 million sold direct to consumers by 2425 farms, over $186 million sold directly to retail markets, institutions, & food hubs by 900 farms and almost $23 million in value added products by 886 farms.
- The majority of the farms selling direct to consumers (2300 or 95%) report sales of less than $50,000 in these markets, but those reporting more than $50,000 in sales (5%) represent the majority of all direct-to-consumer sales (66%).
All Census of Agriculture data can be accessed using the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s searchable database, Quick Stats.
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USDA Calling for Grant Program Peer Reviewers
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is looking for subject matter experts to serve as peer reviewers to evaluate grant applications for the Fiscal Year 2024 grant cycle. If you have received a grant from USDA and work frequently with food projects, your expertise is needed!
Reviewing applications will take approximately 6 weeks and non-federal reviewers will be compensated for their reviews.
Current Programs Seeking Peer Reviewers:
Follow this link to become a reviewer.
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Larimer County Extension Survey on Ag Producers' Challenges and Goals
Larimer County Extension, with input from various local ag partners, has created a survey to better understand ag producers' current challenges and future goals. The data from this survey will be completely anonymous and will help inform CSU, the county, and local organizations on how to create resources that will best serve the ag community. The survey takes on average 11 minutes to complete and the deadline is May 3. Also, if you fill out the survey you have a chance to win one of three $100 JAX gift cards!
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Connect with the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center
The Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center (RFBC) is one of 12 Regional Food Business Centers funded by USDA, with the goal of improving local and regional food systems and better serving underinvested farm and food businesses. The Northwest and Rocky Mountain RFBC serves Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Recent updates include:
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ABOUT FOOD SYSTEMS
at Colorado State University
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Food systems are the connections between natural resources, the agricultural and food industries, and the buyers, consumers, and communities to which they contribute. Research, extension and education identify and inform opportunities to bridge how production, supply chains, and eaters respond to changing markets, policy, and the environment. At CSU, we focus on these key areas to train, influence, and communicate ways to connect food-related roles and foster healthy communities, economies, and individuals.
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Find us on social media, get farm or food systems related questions answered via email, forward to a friend, or submit your contributions to our newsletter!
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