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Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) has secured an additional $14,000 in funding from the Appalachia Funders Network in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Funds will be awarded to local and regional farmers in a second round of grant funding under the Central Appalachian Family Farm Fund (CAFFF). In July, a first round of relief funding awarded 19 farmers a total of $9,500, in mini-grants.
In December, ASD will award 28 mini-grants in the amount of $500 each to local and regional farmers to help offset some of the impacts of the pandemic on our most vulnerable workers in agriculture. Beginning, limited-resource and socially disadvantaged farmers are encouraged to apply.
Direct support is to be used to offset loss of income and help farmers with farm expenses and overall operations expenses. Applications are due by 5 p.m. EST on Monday, December 14, 2020. Award checks will be mailed to farmers within 30 days. Farmers should apply at this link:https://forms.gle/2jEazjgqnoqd5NE87.  
Priority will be given to farmers who have been most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, have been most disadvantaged before the crisis due to race, gender, or another protected class or have the largest proportion of their income derived from their farm production. Farmers must be located in one of the following counties Virginia: Alleghany, Bath, Bland, Botetourt, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Henry, Highland, Lee, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Rockbridge, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise or Wythe. In Tennessee: Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Cannon, Carter, Claiborne, Clay, Cocke, Coffee, Cumberland, De Kalb, Fentress, Franklin, Grainger, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Macon, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Polk, Putnam, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Smith, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, Van Buren, Warren, Washington or White.
The impacts to our nation’s food system resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are still unfolding and is testing the resiliency of our local, state, regional and national food systems. The pandemic has stretched or even broken the “value-chains” that bring food from the farm to our plates, whether they are the long chains tied to retail groceries or short chains like farmers markets.