Farm and Food Workers Relief Grant Program

Background
The Farm and Food Workers Relief grant program provides financial support to eligible entities (i.e., State agencies, Tribal entities, and non-profit organizations) to deliver relief in the form of $600 flat-rate payments to eligible farmworkers, meatpacking workers, and grocery store workers who incurred expenses preparing for preventing exposure to, and responding to, the COVID-19 pandemic. This relief is intended to defray costs for reasonable and necessary personal, family, or living expenses such as costs for personal protective equipment (PPE), expenses associated with quarantines and testing, and dependent care.

Grant Details
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) Grant Program. AMS will competitively award grants to eligible applicants for projects that meet the purpose of this grant program. FFWR is authorized and funded under Division N, Title VII, subtitle B, section 751 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately $665 million in Consolidated Appropriations Act funding is available for applications under this solicitation. A maximum of $20,000,000 will be for grocery store workers and the remainder of funds available, less administrative expenses, will be for farm and meat packing workers. Funds will be awarded through grants to eligible entities generally ranging from $5,000,000 to $50,000,000. Eligible entities must demonstrate the capacity to issue $600 flat rate payments to eligible farmworkers and/or meatpacking workers for safety-related expenses that they incurred due to the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Eligibility Requirements
Eligible entities include State agencies, Tribal entities, and non-profit organizations. AMS strongly encourages partnerships with smaller organizations with unique connectedness to hard-to-reach worker populations. Subawards that support the overall program objectives will be allowed under this grant program.

Grant Value
Approximately $665 million in Consolidated Appropriations Act funding is available for applications under this solicitation. A maximum of $20,000,000 will be for grocery store workers and the remainder of funds available, less administrative expenses, will be for farm and meat packing workers. Funds will be awarded through grants to eligible entities generally ranging from $5,000,000 to $50,000,000.