Regional News: Six Hudson Valley Farms Receive RFSI Grants

When Governor Hochul announced the 19 recipients of the State’s share of the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Grant Program on July 16, 2025, six farms in HVADC’s Hudson Valley regional coverage area were among the awarded.

Administered in New York State by HVADC affiliate organization the Farm and Food Growth Fund (FFGF), the awarded funding is the first of two RFSI grant rounds announced in 2023 as part of a cooperative agreement between states and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to expand middle of the supply chain work to create a more resilient local and regional food systems across the nation. The first round was for Infrastructure funding and the second round will be for Equipment only.

Through this program, AMS entered into cooperative agreements with state agencies, such as The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) which are responsible for agriculture, commercial food processing, seafood, or food system and distribution activities or commerce activities in states or U.S. territories. RFSI is authorized by the American Rescue Plan.

The RFSI Infrastructure competitive opportunity was focused on funding infrastructure for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of agricultural food products (excluding meat and poultry products). Project awarding ranged from $100,000 - $3,000,000, with required match funds of 50% or 25% for historically underserved groups.  Applications had opened Mary 15, 2024 and closed on June 28, 2024.

“This was a very competitive grant process, with over 130 across the state submitting applications, so for these six food producers to be named as awardees is a testament to the type of innovative projects that we see being initiated in the Hudson Valley that are focused on middle of the supply chain and increasing the state’s institutional procurement programs,” said Todd Erling, President/CEO FFGF.

Those awarded from the Hudson Valley region and their projects, include:

Garelick Farms (GFNY) Rensselaer NY, Rensselaer County:  The project “Creating Robust School Milk Processing Capabilities and Increasing Opportunities for New York State Farmers” will include the purchase and installation of a packing machine, equipment for chocolate/flavored milk processing, conveyors, and other packaging equipment. GFNY and its 900 New York State dairy farmer partners will be able to utilize this expanded processing capacity to facilitate more NYS Grown & Certified milk sales to 21 New York school districts and other institutions.

The Granary at Glynwood, Cold Spring, NY, Putnam County: Through its “Critical Market Development for New Entry Producers” project, the Glynwood Center will renovate several existing structures into the “Granary at Glynwood.” The new facility will provide critical aggregation, storage, co-packing, and distribution services for entry-level, small-scale, Certified Organic grain producers – ultimately distributing grain from at least 44 regional organic farms to 30 markets including bakers, chefs, and other buyers.

Kaye Ranch, Millerton, NY, Dutchess County: The collaborative project “Creating a Food Hub by Expanding Infrastructure and Collaboration in the Hudson Valley” includes constructing two connected processing facilities with climate-controlled storage and wash and pack equipment, as well as a commercial kitchen to help meet critical supply chain needs for at least 15 local farms. Kaye Ranch will create new jobs, produce over 25 new value-added products, and increase market opportunities with regional distributors, school districts, restaurants, community food access organizations, and other wholesale buyers.

Klein’s Kill Fruit Farm (KKFF), Germantown, NY, Columbia County:  Through its “Post-Harvest Fruit & Vegetable Storage and Packing Expansion,” project KKFF will construct a new cold storage and modern packing house to substantially increase its capacity to store fresh apples and other produce for extended periods, minimizing post-harvest loss and ensuring a more consistent supply of high-quality, locally grown fruits and vegetables throughout the year.

Livingston Manor Central School District, Livingston Manor, NY, Sullivan County: The district’s “Farm to School Bread Project in Sullivan County” will acquire new convection ovens and other bakery equipment, to enable the district to source more local flour and other ingredients to produce bread products for school meals. The district plans to bake bread for distribution to other school districts across Sullivan County as well, advancing a State goal of procuring at least 30% of school food from New York farmers. The collective increase in demand will make local flour more competitive in the region, lowering costs for the schools and increasing profits for producers.

R&R Producers, New Hampton, NY, Orange County: “R&R Producers Aggregation and Distribution Hub: Catalyzing and Orange County Food System” will build a state-or-the-art wash and pack facility. By renovating an existing barn, expanding cold storage, and installing efficient wash/pack lines, the project will double current capacity to serve as a regional food hub for the aggregation, processing, and distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables from Orange County farmers. The upgrades support R&R’s collaboration with at least seven small farm partners to expand to new wholesale and institutional markets across New York State.

Commenting on the announcement of the grant awardees, New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “The RFSI program offers us an opportunity to strengthen New York’s food system in real and meaningful ways. The recipients of this funding will be able to modernize and construct new agricultural facilities, improve food safety, purchase new equipment, and so much more.” 

For more information about the RFSI program, visit https://www.ffgrowthfund.org/rfsi.