Agriculture in Pennsylvania

Urban Agriculture Infrastructure

Grant Program

With the passage of the 2019-2020 State Budget, Pennsylvania enacted its first comprehensive farm bill package to invest in agriculture across the Commonwealth. Included in the budget was Senator Street’s bill to produce the first ever Urban Agriculture Grant Fund. These grants will build out the infrastructure of urban agriculture by investing in the system, filling gaps, encouraging entities to work together, finding ways to bring operations to a greater scale, overcoming food deserts, and opening opportunities for people to become social entrepreneurs. Senator Street is proud to work with the Department of Agriculture to invest in urban farms and community gardens in our community and across this Commonwealth.

The Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant Program (UAI) provides funding in the form of a reimbursement grant to eligible applicants seeking to improve urban agriculture infrastructure in Pennsylvania.

How to Apply →
Program Guidelines →
Program Information Sheet →

Guidelines & Uses

Grants may be used for expenses related to the following projects:

Projects must include improvements to agricultural infrastructure in urban areas and support for community development in the project service area.
They may further include improvement or creation of programs that aggregate agricultural products in urban areas and promote the sharing of resources among urban agricultural entities.
Grant awards may not be used to cover in-kind contributions or to reimburse wages or salaries of grant recipient staff.

Eligible & Ineligible Costs

Eligible Costs

Gardening/growing equipment
Green houses/hoop houses
Utility connections/off-grid energy or water systems
Contracted labor/installations
Harvesting equipment
Cold storage/temperature control equipment
Soil remediation
Soil amendments
Lighting (for growing only)
Soil testing
Site design or planning (contracted)

Ineligible Costs

Any purchases made outside the contract period
Wages/stipends
Vehicles
Computers, tablets, phones
Rent
Utility bills
Software
Political contributions
Land rental or purchase
Livestock
Animal feed
Advertising (That is not located on site)
Administrative costs
Ineligible Matching Funds
All items listed as “Ineligible Costs”
In kind services

Projects must be located in an urban area.

Funding Opportunities

Two types of grants will be awarded. These include “microgrants” and “collaboration” grants.

Micro Grants for one-time projects or a single entity applicant. Maximum grant amount for these applications is $2,500, not to exceed 85% of project costs. This means that applicants will only be required to match 15% of the total grant amount.
Collaboration Grants which demonstrate cooperative or regional efforts which share resources, aggregate agricultural products or producers, promote the sharing of resources among agricultural entities, and support community development. These applications should include several partners in a project, and have a maximum grant amount of $50,000, not to exceed 85% of project costs. This means that applicants will only be required to match 15% of the total grant amount.

Apply:

Learn More
Interested parties can apply at http://www.esa.dced.state.pa.us/login.aspx
For more information, visit https://dced.pa.gov/programs-funding/

News

Sen Street & PA Agriculture Secretary Redding Announce Urban Agriculture Grants

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Sen. Street Joins PA Secretary of Agriculture to Announce Urban Agriculture Grants

PHILADELPHIA, PA – July 29, 2019 − Senator Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) joined Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russel Redding to announce the state’s first Urban Agriculture Grant Fund enacted through Senator Street’s Urban Ag legislation in Act 40 of 2019. “There are tremendous opportunities for urban farmers who often turn blight into community gardens providing access to locally sourced fresh food and combatting the food insecurity that plagues many of our communities.” said Senator Street. The Grant program opens August 1, 2019 and closes September 15, 2019 and is the first comprehensive farm bill package to invest in agriculture across the Commonwealth, including the first ever Urban Agriculture Grant Fund. It includes...