The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands has announced the launch of the 2025 Equipment-Only Grant application cycle under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Program, a USDA-funded initiative aimed at strengthening the middle of the food supply chain in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
With up to $1 million in total funding available, CFVI is inviting eligible applicants to apply for grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. The funds will support the purchase of equipment that improves aggregation, processing, storage, transportation, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products.
“This funding represents a critical investment in the territory’s food infrastructure,” said Dee Baecher-Brown, President of CFVI. “By targeting the middle of the supply chain, we are directly supporting the capacity of small and midsize producers to deliver local products more efficiently and sustainably. The goal is not just resilience, but also opportunity — for farmers, food businesses, and ultimately, for our entire community.”
According to the release, the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program was created to enhance capacity across the middle-of-the-supply-chain — the essential link between production and retail. In the Virgin Islands, the program specifically supports infrastructure for products such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, and other locally produced goods, while meat, poultry, and wild-caught seafood are excluded.
CFVI is partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to manage the competitive grant process locally.
A broad range of entities are eligible, including:
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Agricultural producers and processors
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Nonprofit and for-profit businesses involved in middle-of-the-supply-chain activities
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Local government and tribal entities
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Institutions such as schools, hospitals, and universities working to establish cooperative infrastructure
Applicants must be domestically owned and have operations physically located in the U.S. Virgin Islands. For-profit applicants must also meet Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards, which can be found on the SBA’s Size Standards webpage.
Interested applicants can download the application and review full eligibility details by visiting: https://cfvi.co/RFSI. The full Request for Proposals (RFP) is also available for review on that site.
Completed applications must be submitted via email to [email protected] no later than 5:00 p.m. AST on June 30, 2025.
To assist with the application process and clarify program requirements, CFVI will host three training sessions:
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St. Croix – June 11, 2025, 4:30–6:00 p.m. at UVI Research & Extension Center (REC), Room 133
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St. Thomas – June 12, 2025, 4:30–6:00 p.m. at UVI Cooperative Extension Service, Conference Room, New House Building
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Virtual – June 13, 2025, 1:00–2:30 p.m. on Zoom
Participation is strongly encouraged for all prospective applicants. Those with questions can email [email protected]. Additional information about the RFSI initiative can be found on the AMS Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure webpage.
