The City of Madison Food Policy Council announces the 2018 SEED Grants cycle to address food access issues in our community. SEED Grants are small grants designed to support new and recently emerging projects or programs that support access to healthy food in our community.

The City of Madison 2018 Budget includes $50,000 in grant funds to be distributed by the Madison Food Policy Council. The Madison Food Policy Council is encouraging any organization, group, or agency that is devoted to making food more accessible to City of Madison residents to apply. Any proposal that improves the local food system will be considered. The maximum of any one grant will be limited to $10,000.

The Madison Food Policy Council’s SEED Grants Work Group has implemented changes to the application materials for 2018. Changes include:
 Direct alignment of funding criteria outlined in the SEED Grants cover letter with grant application questions and the grant reviewer score sheet
 Removal of the requirement to use strategies from the Healthy Food For All Children Community Plan 
         Please note that the HFFA Community Plan is a useful resource and one that SEED Grants applicants should look over and take into consideration
 Increased transparency in points allotted per grant application section
 Inclusion of a "Frequently Asked Questions" document on the SEED Grants webpage

Interested applicants should go to the City of Madison SEED Grants webpage for the grant application guidelines and application form. Applications are due on Monday, February 26th, 2018 by 4:30pm, and should be submitted to George Reistad, Food Policy Coordinator, at greistad@cityofmadison.com or mailed/hand-delivered to the Mayor’s Office at 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Room 403, Madison, WI 53703. Applications submitted via standard mail must be postmarked no later than Friday, Feb. 23rd, 2018.

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a pre-submittal information meeting to discuss the grant application and explore potential collaboration opportunities with other organizations in attendance. The pre-submission meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 31, 2017 at 6:00pm at the Meadowridge Library – Community Room B (located at 5740 Raymond Rd., Madison, WI 53711).

Applications will be evaluated and funding recommendations made to the Madison Food Policy Council by the SEED Grants Work Group of the Madison Food Policy Council in February 2017. Final decisions will be announced in late March. Additional questions can be directed to the Mayor’s Office, (608) 266-4611.