The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) has released its 2021 call for Partnership Grant program proposals.
The Partnership Grant program funds projects that work in direct partnership with farmers to encourage innovative solutions to current sustainability challenges related to production, marketing and/or farmer and community wellbeing in Northeast farming and food systems. Projects are capped at $30,000 and are typically conducted for one to two years.
Proposals are due online by 5 p.m. on April 13. Information can be found at northeastsare.org/partnershipgrant. Questions about the grant program should be directed to candice.huber@uvm.edu.
A webinar that reviews the grant program will be offered from noon to 1 p.m. on March 2. To register, visit go.uvm.edu/partnershipwebinar.
Grants may be used to conduct research, offer education and training programs, develop unique machines and tools, organize on-farm or in-market demonstrations or explore new farm management practices. They also may be used for community development approaches that support sustainable agriculture outcomes. All projects should lead to new information or strengthen farmer-based working relationships.
The program is not designed to support educational programs for the non-farming general public, food donation efforts, general public awareness campaigns about agriculture and nutrition or community and school gardening initiatives.
All projects must be conducted in one of the New England states, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and/or West Virginia. Anyone who works with farmers is eligible to apply but must have the capacity to manage a grant.
Northeast SARE encourages projects submitted from or in collaboration with women; the LGBTQ+ community; Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); minority-serving institutions (including 1890s and other historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and universities) and other organizations in the Northeast that work with historically underrepresented communities.
Funded by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Northeast SARE offers competitive grants and sustainable agriculture education. It is housed within University of Vermont (UVM) Extension, a unit of UVM’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
