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.

The application for Round Two funding is closed.

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.

The 2024-2025 Hub Network Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program will invest in food hub infrastructure through two separate grants. 

  1. Worker Safety Grants: Improving worker safety equipment & infrastructure.

  2. 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 or 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 for established hubs and high volume hubs (1 or more years in operation)

  • Vehicle lift gates or 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.

Round 2 applications are now closed

Infrastructure Grants

Low Barrier: awards up to $4,999 for emerging and lower volume hubs for supplies such as:

  • 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.

Round 2 applications are now closed

Grant Materials

The application window for Round 2 is now closed.

Program Timeline

There will be two rounds of funding-- one in 2024 and one in 2025. Round 1 awards have all been distributed. Our goal is to have all funds for Round 2 distributed to producers before 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:

  • January 21, 2025 (Zoom Virtual Gathering): Highlights from Round 1 Awards & Round 2 Grant Overview and Info Session

  • February 1, 2025 - Grant application period opens

  • March 15, 2025 - Grant application period closes at 11:45pm PST.

  • April 15, 2025 - Awards announced, applicants complete acceptance form

  • May 15, 2025 - All funds for 2024 grants delivered

  • November 1, 2025 - 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)

Review the Grant Guidelines Document for all details on eligibility and application scoring

For questions, contact the Food Hub Grant Coordinator, Caitlin at caitlin@ocfsn.org