Springfield Community Gardens

Springfield Community Gardens, a Missouri-based non-profit, acts as a prime recipient of federal grants supporting agricultural education, food safety training, and sustainable food systems development for underserved and immigrant farming populations across Greene County and the surrounding Ozarks region. The organization holds no federal contracts and operates exclusively as a grant recipient under USDA and EPA programs.

Springfield Community Gardens' federal funding portfolio concentrates heavily within the USDA ecosystem. The Department of Agriculture accounts for 13 of 15 distinct agency awards listed, spanning the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (5 awards), the Office of Advocacy and Outreach (3 awards), the Agricultural Marketing Service (3 awards), and the National Resources Conservation Service (2 awards), with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 rounding out the remaining active recipients with two awards. The organization has received $7.3 million combined obligated funding across all grants since 2017, with recent activity showing a concentration in 2022 (six awards) followed by a smaller pipeline in 2023–2024 and a new cooperative agreement awarded in March 2026.

Representative grant work spans food security, farmer capacity building, and market development. The most recent award—a $1.23 million Cooperative Agreement from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service under the Regional Food System Partnerships program (CFDA 10.177), running through February 2029—positions Springfield Community Gardens to connect public and private resources, plan and develop local and regional food systems, and build food economy viability and resilience. Prior awards include a $750 thousand Project Grant from the Office of Advocacy and Outreach (CFDA 10.443) supporting investment in Ozarks heritage and immigrant specialty crops for socially disadvantaged populations through September 2025; a $205 thousand NIFA Food Safety Outreach Program grant (CFDA 10.328) delivering food safety training to underserved BIPOC farmers in Greene County from August 2022 through July 2024; and a $190 thousand Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program award (CFDA 10.331) for a hospital farm pilot providing produce distribution to address food security from November 2022 through October 2023. The organization also received EPA Region 7 funding under the Inflation Reduction Act to expand tiered regenerative agriculture training (expanding a 4-week Level I internship program to 90 participants and adding an intermediate certificate program for 18 additional farmers) and earlier American Rescue Plan funding for climate-resilient agricultural education in Greene County.

Springfield Community Gardens' work targets immigrant and BIPOC farmer populations, particularly recent arrivals from Burmese, Hmong, Congolese, and Afghan communities facing language and cultural barriers to market entry. The organization operates a tiered training model—4-week internships, apprenticeships, and field mentorship—and partners with Missouri State University, University of Missouri Extension, and veteran-focused organizations on curriculum development and community outreach. No sub-awards appear in the source data; all grant work is executed directly by the recipient.