Resources
Growing Food.
Everything you need to grow smarter, sell better, and stay connected.
Growing Knowledge.
Tools, guides, and connections to help Northeast Florida farmers grow and thrive.
Growing Communities.
Advocating for our neighbors, and creating sustainable solutions together.
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Duval County Food Policy Council
Building community self sufficiency by fostering a sustainable and equitable food system through the enhancement of local food structures.
Contact: Colman Shepard CShepard@feedingnefl.org
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Duval County UF IFAS Extension Office
A collaborative partnership between the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), the City of Jacksonville, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Contact: Dr. Steve Jennewein sjennewein@ufl.edu
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USDA Farm Services Agency
Division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides support to American farmers, ranchers, and agricultural partners through a range of programs, services, and financial assistance.
Contact: Jenny Morrison Jenny.morrison@usda.gov
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Black Church Food Security Network
A network of Black churches organizing to advance health, wealth, and power in our communities. Co-creating Black food ecosystems anchored by Black churches working in partnership with Black farmers and other organizations.
Contact: Laureen Husband Laureen.Husband@gmail.com
Request Forms
“If we want to truly change hunger in our communities, we must do more than distribute food—we need to support the people who grow it. Supporting local farmers means strengthening food systems from the ground up.” - Angela TenBroeck
Tools and Guides
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
GAP audits certify the safety of grower’s products. They are voluntary, but are often required by larger institutions to be a certified source. The NEFL Farmers Consortium hosts FREE GAP trainings bi-annually. In these trainings, growers will leave with the knowledge and materials to be prepared to pass a GAP audit. More information for GAP Audits can be found here: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing/gap-ghp.
For information on upcoming trainings, visit our events page.
For resources from previous trainings, visit this drive.
Get your USDA Farm Number to access USDA funding
Growers need a Farm Number with the USDA’s Farm Services Agency in order to apply for USDA funding. The Farmers Consortium provides support filling out FSA paperwork. Contact us for assistance, and then make an appointment with the FSA Office in Baldwin, FL by calling (904) 266-0088, Ext. 2 or emailing Jenny Morrison at Jenny.morrison@usda.gov.
Urban Gardening Program
The Duval County UF IFAS Extension Office’s Urban Gardening Program offers a wide variety of educational programs to help Duval County residents learn more about different ways they can grow their own health food. For more information, contact Beth Marlowe at BMarlowe@coj.net 904-255-7450.
Agriculture and Agribusiness Management
If you’re interested in starting an agribusiness or turning your small farm into a commercial operation, check out the UF IFAS Extension Office’s resources on Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises. For more information, contact Dr. Steve Jennewein at sjennewein@ufl.edu.
Starting a Community Garden
The Urban Gardening Program with the UF IFAS Extension Office assists community gardens throughout Jacksonville with education and technical assistance to help them grow successfully. If you are interested in starting a community garden, or renovating an existing garden, please fill out a Community Garden Assistance Form. We can help with all phases of setting up and maintaining your community garden. For more information, contact Tonya Ashworth at t.ashworth@ufl.edu.
Center for Sustainable Agriculture Excellence and Conservation (CSAEC)
The Center for Sustainable Agriculture Excellence and Conservation (CSAEC) has developed and uses best practices to assist farmers as they work to develop their farm using sustainable agriculture practices. Visit their website at https://www.csaec.org/
Safe Storage of Produce for Retailers
If you’re a retailer interested in starting to sell produce, check out these guides outlining how to store different types of produce.
Grant Opportunities
Opportunities will be added as they are opened. If you’d like to submit a grant opportunities, please email Grow@neflfarmers.com
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Applications for the Florida Farm Bureau Classroom Mini-Grant are now open! This $250 mini grant is a great opportunity to help expand current K-12 aquaculture classroom set-ups or jump start a new system. Educators who integrate agricultural concepts into everyday core curricula are encouraged to apply. An outline of your projects budget, purpose and description, measurable outcomes, ability to incorporate Florida agriculture and timeline should be included in your application. More information about the application and requirements can be found directly on the Florida Farm Bureau webpage.
Applications will close September 12, 2025, at 5p EST.
Questions? Contact Sarah N. Prieto
(850) 617-7624
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
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The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals for subgrants under the Food Policy Catalyst, an initiative of CSPI and affiliate CSPI Action Fund. We seek and support partnerships with organizations and advocates at the local and state levels to facilitate changes to improve the food environment. In addition to providing subgrants, we are committed to building the capacity of partner organizations to address unique food system issues in their communities.
We are currently accepting applications for three subgrant opportunities:
State & Local Policy: Aimed at pursuing policy campaigns aligned with the following priority areas: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), child nutrition programs, state-level taxes on sweetened beverages, values-aligned food procurement in public institutions, and food and beverage labeling and marketing.
Industry Accountability: Aimed at campaigns to hold corporations responsible for the negative health impacts of their food and beverage products and marketing tactics.
Powerbuilding: Aimed at supporting the participation of organizations with little to no policy experience in an 8-month cohort that strengthens the power of people experiencing the greatest inequities and builds the capacity of organizations to address unique food system challenges in their communities.
Please review the attached Request for Proposals or visit our website to find more information about the subgrant opportunities.
To be eligible to apply to any of these subgrant opportunities, organizations must:
Be a nonprofit with a 501(c)(3) public charity or other tax-exempt designation from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), OR
Be fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit organization as described above, and
Have an annual operating budget not exceeding $5 million.
For State and Local Policy subgrants, we are only reviewing proposals from organizations located in and / or for projects focused in the following priority locations: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, or Washington, D.C. For Industry Accountability subgrants, we welcome proposals for campaigns able to scale a national reach/impact. We will prioritize applications from organizations located in the above priority locations, and/or from organizations with strong community engagement in these states.
There is no geographic requirement for Powerbuilding subgrant applicants – organizations may be located in any U.S. State, U.S. Territory, or Tribal Area.
Letters of Intent (LOIs) are due by 11:59PM EST Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025. Please reach out to grants@cspinet.org with any questions.