Awarding Small Grants to Small Farms to Make a BIG IMPACT!
Bucks County Foodshed Alliance introduced our Small Farm Grant Program in 2019. These grants help local sustainable producing farms within the Bucks County foodshed expand and improve their businesses enabling them to be more efficient and productive. We will consider requests for:
- Small capital improvements such as creating hoop houses and other season extending improvements, movable chicken houses, or critical equipment
- Registration fee for conferences such as the annual PASA conference (Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture)
BCFA may request both an on-site farm visit and recommendations.
Small Farm Grant Application Process
BCFA awards grants on a rolling basis according to available funds. We are limited to farms within our local Bucks County foodshed. We prioritize farms that use or are actively transitioning to sustainable agricultural practices.
We are thrilled to have awarded funds to local farms for specific projects which contributed directly to their increased sustainability:
2019 – refrigeration expansion
2019 – labeling machine, read more
2019 – pig watering & feeding system, read more
2020 – increase bottling capacity, read more
2019 – small machinery to improve cover crop regimen, read more
2021 – funds to new hoop house, read more
2021 – electric farm delivery vehicle, read more
2022 – mobile chicken coop, read more!
Feed A Family, Support A Family Farm Program
BCFA is excited to share our program called Feed a Family Support a Family Farm! The program aims to expand access to healthy local produce by providing excess produce from local farmers at Doylestown and Wrightstown Farmers Market to limited resource members of the community. Along with the free produce, families will also receive a helpful nutrition and recipe guide specific to each week’s vegetables, as well as information about SNAP at our Markets.
The program kicks off in June, and will run for 16 weeks, through September.
Doylestown Farmers Market donations will be collected on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. The donations will be offered to the Woman’s Place and Grundy Hall. Wrightstown Farmers Market donations will be collected on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. The donations will be offered to Penndel Food Pantry.
You an also donate local goods purchased from the market or extra change. Donations accepted at the green market canopy during collection weeks!
Call for volunteers!
We need volunteers to purchase food from the farmers and drive food from the Farmers Markets to drop off locations.Â
Please reach out to Paul if you would like to volunteer:Â paul.w@bucksfoodshed.org
If you are interested to donate to this program, please click here.
Recipe Handout Cards
Along with the produce, families will receive a handout about each veggie item. The handouts explain the best ways to select and store each veggie plus recipes and ideas. Here are a copy of the each of the handouts we have created:
Thank you to our many generous donors who make this all possible!
With your support, this program will continue to help local farms thrive and provide our community with fresh, delicious and nutritious food.
