Selected applicants must obtain a Unique Entity ID (UEI – SAM) and a Mississippi Magic Number before being awarded.
Quick Start Guide for Getting a Unique Entity ID (PDF – DOL)
The purpose of the Resilient Food System Infrastructure (RFSI) program is to assist states in building resilience in the middle-of-the-supply-chain and strengthening local food systems by creating new revenue streams for producers. The goal of the RFSI program is to create additional and better processing options for local producers across the state’s food supply chain. RFSI investments aim to create a food systems infrastructure to support competitive and profitable market access for domestic farm products.
Through the RFSI program, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) will make available over $5.8 million in funding from USDA that will be sub-awarded to eligible entities in the form of Infrastructure Grants and Equipment-Only Grants to middle-of-the-supply-chain businesses. Infrastructure Grants will be awarded at the minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $3,000,000. Equipment-Only Grants will be awarded at a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $100,000.
Additional Information
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) has entered into a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to administer the RFIS program for the State of Mississippi. This program, funded through Section 1001(b)(4) of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117— 2), as amended, authorizes the USDA, to make grants and agreements to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency.
The RFSI program will focus on funding Infrastructure and Equipment-Only Grant activities that:
- Expand capacity for processing, aggregation, and distribution of agricultural products to create more and better markets for producers;
- Modernize manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems;
- Enhance worker safety through adoption of new technologies or investment in equipment or facility improvements;
- Improve the capacity of entities to comply with federal, state, and local food safety requirements;
- Improve operations through training opportunities;
- Support construction of a new facility;
- Modernize or expand an existing facility (including expansion and modifications to existing buildings and/or construction of new buildings at existing facilities);
- Construction of wastewater management structures, etc.;
- Modernize processing and manufacturing equipment; and
- Develop, customize, or install equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases efficiency in water use, improves air and/or water quality, and/or meets one or more of USDA’s climate action goals.
Eligible foods include specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and other food products. Meat and poultry, wild-caught seafood, exclusively animal feed and forage products, fiber, landscaping products, tobacco, and dietary supplements are excluded.
Entities eligible for Infrastructure and Equipment-Only Grants include:
- Agricultural producers or processors, or groups of agricultural producers and processors;
- Nonprofit organizations operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products;
- Local government entities operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products;
- Tribal governments operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural products; and
- Institutions such as schools, universities, or hospitals bringing producers together to establish cooperative or shared infrastructure or invest in equipment that will benefit multiple producers middle-of-the-supply-chain activities such as processing, aggregation, distribution of targeted agricultural product.
For more information or questions regarding the Resilient Food System Infrastructure Program, contact:
RFSI Program Coordinator
Peyton Pierce
RFSI@mdac.ms.gov
Cell: 601-421-4469
Office: 601-359-1256
