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 farms expand their businesses enabling them to be more efficient and productive, such as:
- Small capital improvements such as creating hoop houses and other season extending improvements, movable chicken houses, or critical equipment
- Farm promotion such as website update, improve impact of social media, etc.
- Registration fee for conferences such as the annual PASA conference (Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture)
We are thrilled to have awarded funds to local farms for specific projects which contributed directly to their increased sustainability:
2019 – Blooming Glen Farm – refrigeration expansion
2019 – Barefoot Botanicals – labeling machine
2019 – Plowshare Farms – pig watering & feeding system
2020 – Tybuk Maple Syrup Farm – increase bottling capacity
2021 – Pan’s Forest – small machinery to improve cover crop regimen
“The grant money we have received will help us to convert a shipping container into a refrigeration unit, enabling us to expand our food storage capabilities & extend the season that we can offer local produce.”
“The grant funds were used to help us purchase a labeling machine that will be of tremendous value to us as we scale up production with value-added products. This is allowing us to redirect countless labor hours.”
“We – and our pigs – are loving our new grant-funded pig feeders and waterers. With our new pig feeders we are able to refill the pig feed every five or six days, saving us a lot of labor hours. Our pigs have access to free-choice feed at all times. It’s a win-win.”
We can’t begin to tell you how much easier the canning machine has made our life. “Back in the day” Carol would pour 5 gallons of syrup into a roasting pan on the stove, then we would have to monitor it until it reached 180 degrees. We would then use a Pyrex measuring glass and pour it into our syrup jugs. Life is so much easier now! We just load 12-13 gallons of syrup into the heating bin, wait about a half hour or so and BAM, we are canning syrup. It’s so much cleaner and very little waste. The ability to bottle more quicker has given us the confidence to pursue additional locations willing to sell our syrup- and additional farmers markets. Our sales are going through the roof and we are loving how busy with are! The canning machine has made this all possible. Every time we use it, we comment how much better it is to use it compared to the old way. Thank you again for assisting us so we could buy it!
“Receiving a grant from the BCFA this past spring was great for our farm and helped us start the season on a positive note. We were coming back from a number of rough years of stressful growing and looking to build our infrastructure. The BCFA grant allowed us to invest in our cover crop program, helping us to plan further ahead for our farm’s future, building up our soil and improving our crop rotation efficiency. We were especially grateful to be given that financial boost early in the year, before the markets started up, during a time when money is especially tight. Now, we’ve been able to seed and incorporate plantings of buckwheat and field peas and we’re looking forward to adding additional cover crops to the soil as the spring and summer crops are finishing up. We highly recommend the BCFA small farm grant program to any of our fellow small farm owners.”
With your support, this program will continue to help local farms thrive and provide our community with fresh, delicious and nutritious food.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Bucks County Foodshed Alliance online,
in person or mail a check to P.O. Box 401, Doylestown, PA 18901
Thank you to our many generous donors who make this all possible!
Small Farm Grant Application Process
BCFA awards grants on a rolling basis according to available funds. We prioritize farms that use or are wanting to transition to sustainable agricultural practices.
