Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety Block Grant Program | USDA AMS TM SPRS G 21 0012

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA AMS TM SPRS G 21 0012

The Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety Block Grant Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), designed to push pandemic-related relief dollars through state governments and into the seafood processing sector. Rather than having individual seafood businesses apply directly to USDA, the program structure relies on state agencies to administer the funding, set specific award amounts based on local conditions, and actively publicize the program so that eligible processors and processing vessels know the assistance exists and understand how to meet the requirements. The overarching purpose is to help seafood processors address COVID-19 impacts by paying for practical safety upgrades, operational changes, and health-related expenses that reduced risk and kept facilities and vessels functioning.

Only state governments are eligible applicants at the federal level (CFDA 10.181), meaning the state agency receives the grant and then provides funds onward to seafood processors and processing vessels within that state. The program anticipates a broad national rollout, with an expected 25 awards, reflecting multiple states and jurisdictions receiving grants to run their own pass-through funding efforts. The award ceiling listed for the opportunity is $30,694,746, indicating the maximum federal amount available under the grant framework for a single award, while the actual amounts distributed to individual processors are left to the state agency to determine based on industry needs and conditions on the ground.

A key operational rule is that each processing facility or vessel may apply separately for funding, which matters for companies that operate more than one plant or more than one vessel. At the same time, processors are limited to one application per location or per vessel, so the same facility cannot submit multiple requests for the same site. This approach is meant to keep funding distribution straightforward and prevent duplicate funding for the same operation while still recognizing that multi-site businesses may have different needs at different locations.

Allowable uses of funds focus on expenses directly tied to pandemic response, continuity of operations, and worker and consumer safety. Workplace safety measures are explicitly eligible and include common protective and sanitation supplies and equipment such as personal protective equipment, sanitizer, hand washing stations, air filters, thermometers, cleaning supplies, and similar items that reduce transmission risk in processing environments. The program also supports market pivots, acknowledging that many processors had to change how they sold product during the pandemic. Examples include costs associated with moving into virtual or online sales, such as building or subscribing to an online platform, paying platform fees, online marketing, credit card processing fees, as well as related supplies and new signage needed to support new sales channels or customer-facing adjustments.

Another major eligible category is retrofitting facilities for worker and consumer safety. This can cover modifications that make workplaces safer or enable safer transactions, including plexiglass barriers, walk-up windows, and various physical setup changes. The description also calls out retrofitting harvester vessels for onboard vessel processing in ways that maximize open-air activities, reflecting the reality that open-air work can reduce risk compared with enclosed spaces. Additional examples of eligible retrofit-related items include heat lamps, fans, tents, propane, weights, tables, and chairs, which can support outdoor or reconfigured work and service areas.

The program recognizes that pandemic safety often increased logistical and housing costs, so it allows funds to cover additional transportation expenses incurred to maintain social distancing, as well as additional worker housing costs needed to spread out living arrangements or to quarantine new or exposed employees. Finally, it covers certain medical-related expenses that were unreimbursed, including costs associated with providing or enabling vaccinations, testing, or healthcare treatment for infected employees, and it can include paid leave tied to those health needs. In practical terms, the eligible cost categories collectively target the most common pandemic-related pressure points for seafood processors: keeping workers safe, keeping operations compliant and functional, adapting to disrupted markets, and absorbing added costs from distancing and health precautions.

The opportunity was created on September 23, 2021, under funding opportunity number USDA AMS TM SPRS G 21 0012, with an original closing date of November 22, 2021. Even though those dates reflect the federal application window for state governments, the program’s impact at the business level depends on each state’s rollout, outreach, and subaward process, since states are responsible for communicating eligibility, collecting applications from processors and vessels, and setting funding levels that align with local industry needs.

• The Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety Block Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.181.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 23, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 22, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $30,694,746.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for USDA AMS TM SPRS G 21 0012

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