The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) has announced $9.6 million in grants for 15 projects around the country as part of the Food Safety Outreach Program, which provides funding for food safety training and education for small and mid-sized producers and processors affected by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Funded projects cover topics such as cottage food production, environmental monitoring, agricultural water and post-harvest water, and others. All of the projects are set to complete in 2027 or 2028.

Project recipients, grant amounts, and project titles are as follows:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Research, $391,195, "Adapting and Translating Essential Food Safety Protection Principles to Cottage Food Producers in Texas and Arkansas"
• Illinois Institute of Technology, $399,896, "Regional FSMA Lead Instructor Enhancement and Update"
• Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, $528,038, "Local Produce Safety Initiative"
• University of California Office of the President, $398,016, "Collaboration, Co-Learning, and Capacity Building: Targeted Food Safety Education Supporting FSMA Compliance for Food Hubs Across California and Beyond"
• Regents of the University of Minnesota, $549,694, "Partnering with Cottage Producers to Develop Food Safety Tools and Training to Support Small Food Businesses"
• Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, $399,999, "Developing Experiential Learning Tools for Pathogen Environmental Monitoring Within Small and Very Small Ready-to-Eat Food Settings"
• University of Puerto Rico at Carolina, $545,731, "Food Safety Outreach for Food and Beverage Operations @ UPRCa"
• University of Maine System, $399,999, "Supporting Emerging Food Businesses in Northern New England with Enhanced and Expanded Food Safety Programs"
• Purdue University, $549,995, "Virtual Reality and Hands-On Food Safety Training to Support Technical Assistance for Disabled and Military Veteran Farmers"
• University of Arizona, $549,280, "One Size Fits All: Development of Customizable Food Safety Training on Agricultural Water Assessments"
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, $399,465, "Bridging the Gap II: Management of Postharvest Water in Produce Operations."

Additionally, four Award Supplement recipients include:

• Iowa State University
• Oregon State University
• University of Florida
• University of Vermont.