Overview
Led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), this project focuses on enhancing resilience across the middle of the food supply chain by supporting local and regional producers with an emphasis on small and underserved businesses. The initiative seeks to expand capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, and fair wages, and to create new and safe job opportunities. By creating more and better market opportunities and new streams of revenue for small and mid-sized agricultural producers, this program will also result in thriving local communities, strengthen food security, and promote fair economic opportunities. Together with Roots of Change (ROC), Fresh Approach, and infrastructure financing experts, this project will serve to improve supply chain resilience for small and mid-size regional producers, positively impacting historically disadvantaged communities.
Important Links & Dates
Project Surveys
EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEY (8 minutes)
This survey will collect information about middle of the supply chain processing, aggregation, and distribution. This survey is intended for producers and middle of the supply chain facility operators.
FINANCE AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY (20 minutes)
This survey will ask about grants and financing tools that have aided your operation in the past and what types of infrastructure and financing are needed for the future of your operation. The survey is intended for producers, middle of the supply chain operators, and organizations offering technical assistance services.
Note: if you are a producer who completes both surveys, you will receive a $50 stipend for your time.
Project Meetings
This project is currently in the data collection phase for infrastructure mapping. To provide information and be part of the conversation in collecting information on existing, planned, and needed infrastructure, please register for one of the listening sessions below. Though sessions are open to all, the listed region will be the area of focus during the meeting, so we encourage people to attend the meeting that best matches their location/insights. Translation services available upon request. More meetings coming soon. To request a meeting in your area, please email [email protected].
Past meetings 2026:
- SAN DIEGO – Thursday, April 16, 3:00 to 5:00pm: San Diego Food Systems Alliance, San Diego
- ARCATA – Thursday, April 30, 3:00 to 5:00pm: North Coast Growers’ Association, Arcata
- CHICO: Tuesday, May 19, 9am–11am
- FRESNO: June 4, 9am – 11am
Past meetings 2025:
- Thursday, April 17 – Project Launch Meeting, 2–3:30pm PDT (virtual)
- Meeting recording (Password to access recording: tAkw4#RJ)
- Meeting slides
- Wednesday, May 7 – Sacramento (in-person)
- Tuesday, May 20 – Ukiah (in-person)
- Thursday, May 29 – Riverside (in-person)
- Friday, May 30 – Los Angeles (in-person)
- Monday, June 2 – San Luis Obispo (in-person)
- Tuesday, June 10 – Fresno/Clovis (in-person)
Virtual Regional Meetings
Open to all. To be added to the mailing list for further updates, please fill out our interest form.
Past meetings:
- Tuesday, May 27 – Ukiah
- Wednesday, June 4 – Riverside
- Thursday, June 5 – Los Angeles
- Thursday, June 12 – San Luis Obispo
- Thursday, June 12 – Northern California
- Tuesday, June 17 – Fresno
Upcoming meetings:
- Stay tuned.
Tribe-Focused Regional Meetings (Virtual)
To be added to the mailing list for further updates, please fill out our interest form.
Past meetings:
- Tuesday, June 17 – Central California
- Monday, July 7 – Southern California
- Tuesday, July 8 – Chico
Upcoming meetings:
- Stay tuned.
Project Goals and Deliverables
- Outreach with regions throughout California to identify existing, planned, and needed food infrastructure that serves small and mid-size producers.
- Develop an understanding of and map opportunities for connections that would strengthen the supply chain to serve more communities.
- Develop and publish a report that will guide public agencies, nonprofits, community-based initiatives, and private companies involved in supply chain resilience efforts, featuring a vision for how the California agri-food system would look by 2040 to best address food supply chain needs.
Community Engagement
This project actively involves community members, organizations, and stakeholders across California to ensure that its outcomes address local needs and priorities. Participants will contribute insights about their food systems and supply chain challenges, engage in collaborative workshops, and provide feedback on draft recommendations. These inputs will inform strategic infrastructure investments and policy directions that support equitable and sustainable food systems. We will be hosting a series of in-person meetings and web-based workshops to receive iterative feedback from stakeholders throughout this process.
Participating in Stakeholder Engagement
The project will collect data through a series of listening sessions, workshops, and feedback events. Stipends will be provided for regional representative participation.
- Six listening sessions (three in-person and three virtual) to understand community perspectives.
- Four web workshops to share resources on grants, technical assistance, and business planning with communities.
- Six follow-up feedback sessions (three in-person and three virtual) on the drafted report and analyses.
By fostering collaboration among stakeholders, the project will analyze the information provided to develop a long-term vision for California’s agricultural future and lay the groundwork for future infrastructure funding.
Link to fact sheet. For more information about this project, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].