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Urban Ag Extension

 
UME Baltimore City

 

Good morning,

Today’s newsletter includes

  • Upcoming Extension events

  • New Farmers’ Market Seeks Vendors

  • UMD Researchers Inviting you to Participate on Food Waste Project

  • PhotoVoice project invites youth to share their stories of how stormwater management affects their lives

  • New Grants from MARBIDCO Include Grants Urban Farmers, for Cold Storage, and for Food Aggregators

  • New Microgrant from Rodale Institute for Black, Indigenous, People of Color Farmers


   
All the best,
Neith
 
Neith Grace Little
University of Maryland Extension--Baltimore City
Extension Educator--Urban Agriculture
nglittle@umd.edu
http://extension.umd.edu/baltimore-city/urban-agriculture
Upcoming events
Below are UMD Extension events, with a couple of select events from partner organizations. 
UMD Researchers Inviting You to Participate on Food Waste Project

We are inviting you to participate in a survey research project titled: Reducing Food Waste from Confusion in Food Date Labeling by Deploying Integrated Social, Experimental, and Community Educational Approaches. This research is being conducted by Drs. Debasmita Patra, Adel Shirmohammadi, Shauna Henley, and Abani Pradhan at the University of Maryland, College Park. You are being invited to take part in this exclusive research study to identify the ways food is being wasted and provide solutions to include in a mobile phone app to reduce food waste. You have been selected because of your experience and/or knowledge about food sector. The survey will take about 5 minutes of your time. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Debasmita Patra, via email (dpatra@umd.edu).


Please click on the below link to know more about our research. Clicking “Agree” on the first question will let you proceed to participate in the survey.

https://umdsurvey.umd.edu/jfe/form/SV_41O82TFdUO0bRu6 

Thank you very much in advance for your time. Your opinion is valuable to us.

Sincerely, 
Deb

PhotoVoice project invites youth to share their stories of how stormwater management affects their lives



UMD faculty Amanda Rocker, Joseph Galarraga, and Dr. Sacoby Wilson are doing a research project on Watershed 263 in Baltimore City and the Watts Branch watershed in Prince George’s County and Washington, DC. One of their goals is to lift up the voices of the youth under 18 who live in the watershed, to share their stories of how stormwater management affects their lives. They're using a method called "PhotoVoice" to do this in a pandemic-safe way. A flyer is attached. 
 
Youth who participate in the project will receive $40 for full participation by attending the first online meeting/training, taking the requested amount of photos, and attending the last online meeting to discuss the images.
 
Anyone interested can email Joseph jrgal@terpmail.umd.edu
or sign up for more information using this form:    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB4ytsEDWRvTbNbdIAgFbnN0rpnL7z6SCTJ1wK_NEWilpZYg/viewform?gxids=7628

New Grants from MARBIDCO Include Grants Urban Farmers, for Cold Storage, and for Food Aggregators

Adapted from MARBIDCO press releases

The Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) has announced that five new grant programs have been established to provide immediate pandemic adjustment and economic development assistance to agricultural and rural businesses in Maryland.

With this newly available funding, MARBIDCO is offering the following grant programs: the Maryland Livestock Processing Equipment Relief Grant Program, the Maryland Shellfish Aquaculture Relief Grant, the Maryland Urban Farmer Relief Grant, the Maryland Local Food Cold Storage Relief Grant Program and the Maryland Wood Products Industry Equity Investment Relief Fund. 

A brief summary of two of the relief grants are provided below. Additional information about all the programs is available at http://www.marbidco.org/_pages/relief_act/program_relief_act.html 

  • The Maryland Urban Farmer Relief Grant provides grants of $500 to urban farmers to assist with a portion of the costs associated with the urban commercial production of locally grown food products this spring. Urban farmers played a significant role in helping to feed city residents during the pandemic. First-round applications are due by March 15, 2021. 

 

  • The Maryland Local Food Cold Storage Relief Grant Program provides grants of up to $15,000 (up to 50% of the cost) to help agricultural and seafood businesses purchase the cold storage equipment that is needed to continue or expand operations. Farmers needing new cold storage equipment and facilities has increased significantly during the pandemic. First-round applications are due by April 1, 2021.


MARBDICO also recently announced that it is accepting applications for its new Local Farm Enterprise Food Aggregation Grant Pilot Program.

Created by the General Assembly in 2020, MARBIDCO’s grant program is designed to support a new procurement goal for State agencies and universities to purchase at least 20% of their food from Maryland Certified Local Farm Enterprises. These will be farms that adhere to Maryland’s nutrient management requirements and opt to be included on a list that will be maintained by the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

Some institutional and wholesale buyers have found it difficult to engage and contract with farmers to meet their local food sourcing needs. The establishment of the new Certified Local Farm Enterprise Program, coupled with the creation and expansion of distributors of local food in Maryland, is designed to connect small farmers with wholesale and institutional buyers to increase sales for farmers.

Grants of between $25,000 and $100,000 are available for small-scale (farmer-led) projects that include at least three Certified Local Farm Enterprise farmers. Grants of between $150,000 and $350,000 are available for large-scale projects led by a public institution that plans to engage with at least three Certified Local Farm Enterprise farmers to purchase locally grown food. (Public institutions can include counties and municipalities, school systems, rural regional councils, and colleges and universities). All projects will require at least a 10% match.
The application deadline for the Local Farm Enterprise Food Aggregation Grant Pilot Program is April 15. Persons interested in applying to this program are encouraged to go to the MARBIDCO website for more details and applications.

Additional information about the Local Farm Enterprise Food Aggregation Grant Pilot Program is available at http://www.marbidco.org/_pages/programs_grants/grant_programs_lfag.htm 

 

New Microgrant from Rodale Institute for Black, Indigenous, People of Color Farmers

From Rodale Institute press release

Rodale Institute & Organic Farmers Association have partnered to launch a new BIPOC Organic Farmer Micro-Grant program, open for applications now & due on March 31

This program is specifically targeted to support small-scale BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) farmers, whether organic, transitioning to organic, or an aspiring organic farmer. The goal of this program is to grow BIPOC farmers in the organic movement and help them succeed.  

Who’s Eligible: Any U.S.-based BIPOC farmer or aspiring farmer who is interested in organic production. Applicants will be screened by Rodale Institute and Organic Farmers Association.

Funding Amount: Rodale Institute will fund up to $18,000 per year for projects that meet the programs’ requirements. Individual project budgets should be between $500 and $2,000.

Timeframe: Applications are open from January 1-March 31 of each year. Funding decisions will be made by May 31 and funding will be available immediately following approval.

How to Apply: Start the application here and submit it to Elaine Macbeth, Rodale Institute Chief Financial Officer, via email or mail. Projects that have a high potential for impact on the individual farm and/or the communities they serve will be given the highest priority. The application is short and streamlined.

Learn more at RodaleInstitute.org/Microgrant or OrganicFarmersAssociation.org/bipoc/

Examples of projects that may be approved for funding include (but are not limited to): support for on-farm consulting, facility upgrades, outreach & marketing tools, travel or education stipends, signage or multimedia projects, and more.
 

We're hiring! Click here to see open positions at University of Maryland Extension.
The University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

Los programas del Colegio de Agricultura y Recursos Naturales de la Universidad de Maryland están abiertos a todos y no discriminará contra nadie debido a raza, edad, sexo, color, orientación sexual, discapacidad física o mental, religión, descendencia, origen nacional, estatus matrimonial, información genética, afiliación política, o identificación y expresión de género.
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University of Maryland, College Park and University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Please contact us with comments, questions and feedback
Neith Little, Urban Agriculture Extension Educator
nglittle@umd.edu
410-856-1850 x123

Our mailing address is:
6615 Reisterstown Road
Suite 201
Baltimore, MD 21215

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