Food Hub Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program
During the 2023 Oregon Legislative Session, $1.5 million was allocated to the Oregon Community Food System Network (OCFSN) for the Food Hub Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program in Senate Bill 5506. This essential and nationally unique funding will support Oregon’s food hubs in building local economies and disaster resilience.
Application Forms are open February 1 - March 15.
This Food Hub Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program builds on the successful OCFSN 2022 Farmer and Rancher Disaster Relief Program. This page will be the primary resource for all details on the Grant Program including the Grant Program Guidelines and Request for Proposals.
With guidance from food hub operators, a diverse group of community members, and nonprofits, this program will quickly and fairly distribute these funds to food hubs across Oregon to build more resilience in our local and regional communities.
Accepting applications between Feb 1 through Mar 15!
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Accepting applications between Feb 1 through Mar 15! 〰️
The 2024-2025 Hub Network Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program will invest in food hub infrastructure through two separate grants.
Worker Safety Grants: Improving worker safety equipment & infrastructure.
Infrastructure Grants: Strengthening local food distribution and regional food system resilience with increased warehousing & cold storage capacity.
Worker Safety Grants
Low Barrier: awards up to $4,999 for any needed safety equipment, training, and supplies such as:
Pallet jacks
Electric jacks
Racking
Fatigue mats, rolling carts, handtrucks, cargo tie downs, etc
Water stations & beverage coolers for extreme heat, fans, N95’s etc, gloves
Capacity Building: awards between $5,000-25,000
Vehicle lift gates
Vehicle ramps
Extensive racking
Cargo management equipment
Equipment install costs
This list is not exhaustive and hubs may propose other activities/expenses to increase their resilience.
Apply now for a Worker Safety Grant
Accepting applications Feb 1 - March 15, 2024.
Infrastructure Grants
Low Barrier: awards up to $4,999 for emerging and lower volume hubs
Chest freezers
Bins, tables, rolling carts & other packing equipment
Coolers
Storage equipment
Reach-in coolers or merchandisers
Capacity Building: awards between $5,000-75,000 for established hubs and high volume hubs (1 or more years in operation)
Vehicles
Vehicle refrigeration install
Walk-in cooler/freezer
Walk-in install costs, including electrical upgrades
This list is not exhaustive and hubs may propose other activities/expenses to increase their resilience.
Apply now for an Infrastructure Grant
Accepting applications Feb 1 - March 15, 2024.
Grant Materials
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Applications must be submitted through Jotform.
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Both small and large grant applications require a simple budget. Use this budget template and follow all instructions on the template. Budgets will be uploaded as part of the application.
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Watch our 2/27/2024 Info Session Recording & review FAQ sheet we created from the questions asked.
The grant application form opens February 1, 2024 and will be found on this page.
For any questions about this grant program please email the Food Hub Grant Support Coordinator, Diadira at diadira@ocfsn.org
Program Timeline
There will be two rounds of funding-- one in 2024 and one in 2025. Our goal is to have all funds distributed to producers before April 30th in 2024 and April 30th in 2025. These application and reporting timelines are the same for the small and large grants.
2024 Program Timeline:
December 22, 2023 - Grant opportunity announced publicly with details on OCFSN website
February 1, 2024 - Grant application period opens
March 15, 2024 - Grant application period closes at 11:45pm PST.
April 15, 2024 - Awards announced, applicants complete acceptance form
May 15, 2024 - All funds for 2024 grants delivered
November 1, 2024 - Projects completed, final expenditures completed, and all reporting submitted from awardees (reporting may be completed any time before this deadline, earlier reports will help communicating program success to Oregon Legislature)
2025 Program Timeline will be similar to 2024 timeline unless otherwise amended.
Scoring Rubric
Review the Grant Guidelines Document for all details on eligibility and application scoring