Feeding the farmers that feed us
NEW: FEED Orchard Grants
We will be distributing 18 FEED Orchard Grant Awards this summer to increase the production of fruit for food access markets across Kaua‘i! This work is being funded in part by the Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife; and State and Private Forestry, branch of the USDA Forest Service, Region 5.
Program Timeline:
– June 2nd at 3pm: Grant Info Session, Info Session Recording Here
– June 15th: Applications due by midnight, Application here
– July 1st: Grants Awarded
– August 20th & 21st: Ken Love Orchard Management Workshop for Grantees
– December 31st: Project completion due date; all receipts due and final site visits completed
Grant Package:
FEED Orchard Grants are intended to increase fruit production to fill market gaps and increase local fruit made available to food access programs. The FEED Orchards Grant Package Includes:
- $1,500 in mature food trees of your choice to install on your farm (must have low WRA score)
- $500 for orchard expansion supplies: compost, mulch, irrigation, and/or orchard maintenance tools (including pest prevention, such as bird netting, fruit fly traps, etc.)
- 2 seats for farm staff for a 2-day Orchard Management Workshop with Ken Love of Hawai’i Tropical Fruit Growers Association on August 20th & 21st
Program Eligibility:
Priority grantees are Kaua‘i based farmers with established operations, current food production/sales, and engagement with food access related sales channels at the time of application – with commitment to continue into the future. Food access channels include our KauaiLocalFood.com programs and other DA BUX sites and food banks/pantries.
Farmers also must have site control and approval of improvements to ensure the life of the orchards, as evidenced by a signed lease (with a minimum of 5 years remaining) or land ownership documentation. Previous grantees are eligible, but must be compliant with and on target to reach the goals, or have completed their project in good standing, for any other grants they may have received from MK.
Previous FEED Grants:
$50,000 was distributed to 13 grantees in partnership with the County of Kaua‘i OED Innovation Grants program in early 2023. Funds are being used to increase food production to fill market gaps into sales channels that involve SNAP/DA BUX, keiki and kūpuna feeding programs, emergency food distributions, food banks/pantries and other food access programs. Program impacts will be updated here when the project is complete in September 2023.
Go Back to our Farmer Support Programs page or join our e-newsletter for more Kauai farmer grants