In 2023, the state of New Hampshire was allotted over $2 million from the United States Department of Agriculture through the department's Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, a program designed to build resilience in the middle-of-the-supply-chain in the Granite State and strengthen local and regional food systems through the creation of new revenue streams in the areas of aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or the distribution of local agricultural products.
As the lead agency, the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food formerly accepted the RFSI program funds with an execution plan crafted in partnership with the NH Food Alliance and UNH Extension. The New Hampshire RFSI plan has and will benefit New Hampshire farms and food businesses both directly and indirectly through grants, targeted technical assistance, and professional development with the goal of expanding capacity for processing, aggregation, and distribution of agricultural products to create more and better markets for producers; filling gaps in cold storage, transportation, and distribution for farms, food processors, and food hubs; increasing access to cooperative commercial kitchens and/or other value-added product producing facilities; increasing processing for new products; and increasing branding and food safety through packing and labeling.
RFSI Projects & Grants in New Hampshire
The RFSI program funds were used to implement two professional and business development opportunties and two grant programs— the Middle of the Supply Chain field trips and case studies and the Infrastructure and Equipment grants. Each part of the RFSI program implementation in New Hampshire is at a different stage of completion; learn more about each below.
Middle of the Food Supply Chain Field Trips
A field trip series to learn about successful businesses across New England that operate in the middle of the food supply chain
Infrastructure Grant & Awarded Projects
A grant to expand infrastructure capacity for aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution
Equipment Grant & Awarded Projects
Farm and food businesses applied to fund the purchase of equipment that will build capacity for their business in collaboration with others
Middle of the Supply Chain Case Studies
An analysis of farm and food business data to produce decision making tools to distribute and train agricultural service providers
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