UC SAREP Grants Program

UC SAREP Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Small Grants Program 

Announcing UC SAREP’s 2025-2026 Grant Recipients

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems 2025-26 Small Grants Program. Funds from this grant program are provided for planning, research and education projects that support the development of sustainable community food systems and environmentally-sound and economically viable farming enterprises. 

This year’s request for proposals brought in 60 applications requesting $617,000. After the review process, 11 were selected for funding, together receiving nearly $110,000 to support their work strengthening California’s sustainable agriculture and food systems. The next annual small grant request for proposals is scheduled to be released in October. 
 
Join us in congratulating this year’s grant recipients:
 
Sarah Miller, Acta Non Verba, to create and install educational signage, including a self-guided tour and educational video, at Acta Non Verba's West Oakland Farm Park. 

Leah Galitzdorfer, Food Access LA, to provide culinary and nutrition classes for low-to-moderate-income households using fresh, locally grown produce from small and mid-sized farms. 
 
Sabaa Shoraka, Oakland Kids First, to support high school student education in urban agriculture to plant, cultivate and harvest crops that thrive in East Oakland.  
 
Josefina Lara Chavez, Regeneration - Latine Alliance in Agroecology and the Food System, to provide sales and marketing support, expanding economic opportunities for marigold sales for Latine farmers in California's Central Coast.  
 
Stephanie Jordan, Sustainable Solano, to help residents in Solano County obtain or transition to operating a legal Micro-Enterprise Home Kitchen Operation or Cottage Food Operation. 
 
Kitty Oppliger, UCCE-Central Sierra and Placer/Nevada, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, to assess barriers and capacity in charitable food distribution programs to address food insecurity and food waste in California's Central Sierra region.  
 
Julie Finzel, UCCE-Kern, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, to conduct a cost study to determine the average business costs associated with operating a targeted grazing service business. 
 
Elizabeth Fichtner, UCCE-Tulare, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, to evaluate the influence of long-term climate trends on olive fruit fly pressure and develop a new IPM web app for predicting risk of olive fruit fly. 
 
Danielle Klawitter, University of California, Santa Cruz, to investigate inter-row cover cropping with deep-rooted perennial grasses for bio-tillage, soil health and agroecosystem benefits. 
 
Igor Lacan, UCCE-San Mateo/San Francisco, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, to provide disadvantaged youth in San Mateo and San Francisco counties with engagement and education in safe, healthy and sustainable food preparation and preservation practices. 

Annual Request for Proposals

The Small Grants Program is not currently accepting applications

The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program hosts an annual request for proposals for our Sustainable Agritulture and Food System Small Grants Program. The program funds research projects, education and demonstration programs of science-based research, and projects that support the development of sustainable community food systems. 

While are not currently accepting applications, please review the general information below and subscribe to our newsletter for notifications of future funding opportunities. 

Typical Timeline
  • RFP release: October
  • Application deadline: January
  • Project period: May 1 - April 30
Funding Priority Areas  

Priority Area 1:  Support California’s farmers, ranchers, and land stewards of all scales in piloting and transitioning to: 

  • environmentally regenerative approaches to producing crops and livestock (including but not limited to soil health, organic and agroecological practices, integrated pest management, crop diversification);
  • pathways for realizing economic return from ecologically-sound crop management practices and fair labor practices;
  • marketing and distribution strategies that support diversified, decentralized, and locally-based supply chains;
  • strategies that promote producer-to-producer networking and/or producer-to-supply chain networking.

Priority Area 2:  Support California’s rural, urban, and Tribal communities in identifying and implementing strategies to: 

  • expand access to healthy, sustainably produced, culturally appropriate foods;
  • ensure worker wellbeing across the food chain;
  • minimize the community and environmental costs of food production and distribution;
  • strengthen connections between consumers and producers;
  • establish and strengthen producer-to-producer connections and producer-to-supply chain connections.
Funding Availability & Proposal Categories

Individual grants will be limited to a maximum of $10,000, with one Applied Research Grant awarded up to $20,000. Proposals are requested for three types of projects:  

  • Planning Grants
  • Education and Outreach Grants
  • Applied Research Grants

History and Past Grant Recipients

From 1987 to 2012, and resuming in 2020, the program has funded nearly $9 million in research projects, education and demonstration programs of research-based technologies and systems, and projects that support the development of sustainable community food systems.

Our past grant recipient database is currently under redevelopment as part of the UC ANR transfer to the Integrated Web Project. Pleaese check back for updates in the future. 

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