Office of Field Operations

The Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a civilian sub-agency within USDA, administers federal food safety oversight and inspection programs, funding state and local agencies to build and maintain their own meat, poultry, and egg-product inspection capacity.

FSIS funds exclusively through Cooperative Agreements rather than contracts. Since 2015, the agency has awarded 625 grants totaling $569 million in federal dollars (with $960.6 million in combined federal and non-federal share). Grant activity has remained steady over the last five years, averaging between 61 and 66 awards per year: 62 in 2021, 62 in 2022, 61 in 2023, 66 in 2024, and 65 in 2025, with the most recent grant award dated October 1, 2025.

Grant recipient concentration is fragmented among state departments of agriculture and health services. The top five recipients by award count hold 26 percent of recent awards, led by Vermont Agency of Agriculture (15 awards, $6.5 million), Utah Department of Agriculture (13 awards, $6 million), and Georgia Department of Agriculture (13 awards, $17.5 million). The top five by federal dollars hold 25 percent of recent funding, with Illinois Department of Agriculture leading at $36.3 million across 12 awards, followed by Department of State Health Services ($29.7 million, 12 awards) and Ohio Department of Agriculture ($27.5 million, 8 awards). The remaining 52 distinct recipients across the portfolio are state agriculture, health, and consumer-protection agencies, each receiving smaller volumes of support. All 625 grants in the portfolio are Cooperative Agreements, making this the sole assistance vehicle FSIS deploys for grant funding.

FSIS has 57 distinct grant recipients in its active base and targets eligible state and local government agencies responsible for food safety or inspection oversight. Award amounts vary by recipient and program phase, with recent recipients receiving between approximately $6 million and $36 million per grant cycle. No recent contract activity or contract opportunities are recorded against the agency. No recent grant opportunities are published in the source data; prospective applicants should engage the agency directly or monitor FSIS announcements for cooperative-agreement solicitations tied to state food-safety program development or maintenance cycles.