Dover – The Delaware Council on Farm & Food Policy announced the First State Food System Program will be accepting grant applications from entities operating at various points in the food supply chain, including small to mid-sized producers, for funding support. The First State Food System Program offers two grant categories, with two funding levels $2,500 to $49,999 and $50,000 to $150,000. Single-use projects will be completed in 12 months or less, and funds will be used to make specific, one-time purchases for equipment or other capital expenses. Multi-use projects will last for more than a year, and funds will be expended to cover various operational, administrative, and capital expenses. To be considered for funding as a producer, the farm operation must have an annual value of sales between $20,000 and $300,000, and the farm must actively be producing no more than 300 acres of fruits, vegetables, other specialty crops, or other products for human consumption. The following are eligible supply chain operations, and this list is not all-inclusive; some examples include: • Storage: food hubs • Transportation: fleet coordinators, logistics • Processing: incubator facilities, commercial kitchens • Distribution: retail outlets, pantries, food trucks, single or multi-site grocery stores, cooperative grocers, corner stores, mobile markets, restaurants, farmers markets, on-farm stores Applicants who seek funding of $50,000 or more must complete registration through SAM.gov and provide a Unique Entity ID (UEI). The UEI is assigned to an entity by SAM.gov. Applicants must meet these requirements before applying for the grant. The online application is available at https://delcf.org/grants. The funding for this program is provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was signed into law by President Joe Biden and championed by members of Delaware’s congressional delegation – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester. Contact Delaware Council on Farm & Food Policy for grant program questions at DDA_farmandfoodpolicy@delaware.gov. Complete program information can be found at https://farm-and-food-delaware.hub.arcgis.com/.