UC SAREP Grants Program

The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) hosts an annual request for proposals for our Sustainable Agriculture 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. 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.