This federal Project Grant award in the amount of $1,095,662.00 was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) under the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) program (CFDA 10.177). The funding supports a collaborative effort led by the Local Environmental Agriculture Project, Inc. (LEAP) in Roanoke, Virginia to advance a 3-year implementation plan for building equitable and resilient food and farm systems in the Roanoke region.
Key products and services to be delivered under this grant include: facilitating idea sharing, relationship building, and co-creation among regional food systems partners; building awareness and support for the regional food economy through marketing and branding initiatives; supporting regional farm viability through farmer network development, educational programming, and value chain coordination; and compiling data to identify leverage points for systems-level change and inform future investment in the regional food system. LEAP will implement these activities in collaboration with subrecipients Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and the Virginia Association for Biological Farming, who will contribute expertise in areas such as network development, farmer education, and hosting regional food system events.