Agricultural Development Division

No. There is no fee to apply for this subaward (grant).

If you are unable to complete an application online, please contact us to arrange for an application to be mailed to you. Phone: 808-973-9594 or Email: [email protected]

No. HDOA will not make corrections to your application. If there are errors, you will need to submit a new application. HDOA will only accept the most recent submission per household and/or mailing address. NOTE: Try to keep your submissions to a minimum. Take the time to check and double check your application before submitting.

Tell the reviewer what you hope to accomplish through the MGFSP and how you will do it. Describe these items: A coherent plan for your project, an estimate of how much food will be produced over 12 months, how your project will help with food insecurity, how many beneficiaries your project will feed/support (direct and indirect), a description of the project area (lanai, backyard, acres, farm plot, balcony, etc.), a timeline of how you will complete your one year project, and how you will measure and keep track of the amount of food you produce.

No. HDOA will only review the latest submission per household and/or mailing address.

The term “eligible entity” means an entity located in one of the eligible states or territories. Eligible entities are: an individual, an Indian Tribe or tribal organization, a non-profit organization engaged in increasing food security (ex: food bank, food pantry, religious organization), a federally funded educational facility, or a local or tribal government that may not levy local taxes under State or Federal law.  Eligible entities must be a resident of and located in the state of Hawai’i, and at least 18 years of age.

Applications are open from July 10, 2024 to August 12, 2024. All applications must be received by 12:00 P.M. Noon on Monday, August 12, 2024, as evidenced by the HDOA timeclock.

Compliance with various state agencies is not required for individuals in this round of microgrants. Compliance will be required for organizations only.

Insurance is not required for individuals in this round of microgrants. Insurance is required for organizations only.

Fixed Amount Awards: 2 CFR 200.45 H.R.2
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018: Microgrants for Food Security (Page 175)
Equipment: 2 CFR 200.313

• Your email is incorrect or comes back as “undeliverable”.

• The total amount of funds requested do not equal $5,000.00

• The only address provided is a P.O. Box address – where there was no mention of a project/residence location (via zipcode and/or TMK) in the project description or address section.

• Exceeding 1 application per household and/or mailing address.

In this year’s (2024) MGFSP program, while the program is open to all entities that are eligible to apply, the fixed amount awards framework applies only to individuals. A separate solicitation will be posted since fixed amount awards are not applicable to programs that mandate a matching requirement and the MGFSP requires a 10% cash match for organizations.

No. The requirement is that the applicant is over the age of 18 and a resident of the State of Hawaiʻi.

No. A GE Tax number is not required for individuals. GE Tax number will be needed for organizations only.

Yes, they can apply but priority will be given to eligible entities, including households, that have not received an award under this program.

In the event that you purchase an item at a cheaper price than the amount awarded for the item – you can use the extra funds to re-invest strictly toward other items that you apply for. All receipts in your report should reflect the items/categories that you select in your application.

In the event that this happens, please search for alternatives or pay for the difference out-of-pocket. The fixed amount award cannot be changed.

No-Awarded applicants will need to be approved by the USDA, sign a contract, and receive their microgrant funds before expenses can be incurred.

Direct beneficiaries are people within your household (under one roof) that will benefit from the project.

Indirect beneficiaries are people you will be sharing, selling, or donating food to that are outside of your personal household.

You will need to input a project location address AND a mailing address. If a street address is not applicable for your project, please include a TMK as well.

If the addresses differ, then yes – each household would be eligible to receive a microgrant. However, if all households have the same address, then only one microgrant would be eligible for that household address. EX: 123 Aloha Lane Unit A would be considered a different address from 123 Aloha Lane Unit B.

Contact your local United states Postal Office or look up your TMK (Tax Map Key) on your designated county’s “real property tax” website.

Enter the name of the primary person, per single household address, that will primarily oversee the project, the project activities, project purchasing, and project reporting.

Yes. Tree crops are not expected to be producing a harvest for 5 – 8 years. An estimate of how much food can be harvested in a year would be reported. Same for other crops that may not be ready to harvest before the report is due.

The 12-month term of the project is the time frame in which you will need to estimate the amount of food produced as a result of the project.

The fixed amount awards are not meant to cover other than what is shown for small-scale gardening, herding and livestock operations in food insecure communities. If the supplies you need fall under a project type category, please select the most applicable item. Utilize the project description and measurables area to further explain your selections. EX: You need a tiller, but “tiller” is not listed. SOLUTION – select “Land Clearing” under section A and explain how you will use the tiller to achieve the goal of your project in your project description.

Yes – keep in mind the project is to increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food and should report to the actual and/or estimated amount of food to be produced from the project. Your purchase should not reflect solely as a “commercial gain”.

No. Each project type and subsequent item that you can apply for have a fixed amount for each award. However, please also refer to the Use of Funds section of our FAQs.

Yes. Please use this project type for non-permanent, mobile structures such as any “off-the-ground” livestock enclosures.

Yes. Please select project category A: “Irrigation systems, supplies”.

No. You can only select one project category adding up to a maximum of $5000.

No. Though, 8′ fencing would be recommended to successfully deter axis deer.

There is no restriction. Fencing can be used for either instance. Though, the use of the fence would need to achieve the purpose of the microgrant; which is to increase the quality and quantity of locally grown food. Therefore, if you are primarily applying for fencing, you will need to quantify the amount of food grown or produced as a result of the fence.

Yes. Please select project category A: “Land clearing, labor support”.