The Maryland Food and Agricultural Resiliency Mechanism Grant Program (MFARM) helps people who are food insecure to access the nourishment that they need, while providing a market for farmers to sell their products. The purpose of this program is to build food system resiliency by leveraging Maryland agricultural/seafood products and services to support the State's food banks and charitable emergency food providers to alleviate food insecurity.

 

The grant program allows Maryland's food banks and charitable emergency food providers request funding to purchase and process surplus, seasonal, or contractual agricultural/seafood products from listed in the Certified Local Farm and Fish Program and deliver it to Maryland families in need throughout the year.

 

The funding priority is to purchase agricultural/seafood products listed in the Certified Local Farm and Chesapeake Invasive Species Provider Directory.

• ​Grant funds may also be used to fund the following activities;
  
• The processing and preparation of agricultural/seafood products for distribution; and​
• The transportation of agricultural/seafood products.
  

Eligibility

Maryland food banks and charitable emergency food providers that are registered with Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation and are in good standing to do business in Maryland.  An official W-9 form will be required by all applicants to include in their application. This allows MDA to verify an organization's name, address, and tax identification number. It is important that the address included on the W-9 form matches the address of the organization receiving the grant award.

Amount

• $200,000 is currently available.
• Minimum request: $5,000, no maximum request.
• ​Eighty percent of the funds shall be disbursed upon execution of the Agreement between MDA and grant recipient, while the remaining grant funds shall be disbursed after grant recipient has submitted a satisfactory final program and final report.