The First State Food System Grant Program provides funding to entities that grow, process, store, transport, distribute, or sell food in the State of Delaware. The goal is to expand access to healthy foods in food deserts in Delaware and areas at risk of becoming food deserts, by provided grants and other forms of financial assistance to eligible food resources. 

Through this Program, funding is available to a diverse range of businesses, nonprofits, and faith-based institutions, operating at various points in the food supply chain. The Delaware Division of Small Business (DSB) is partnering with the Delaware Council on Farm & Food Policy (Food Council) to award grants and other financial assistance to support equipment purchases, capital, operational, and administrative expenses, supplies, and other costs related to advancing the objectives of the Program and Delaware Grocery Initiative.

Eligible businesses and operations include:

• Farmers/Food Producers: producing for supply – fruits, vegetables, animal proteins, or other food products
• Retailers: independently owned grocery stores, cooperative groceries, neighborhood markets, corner stores, restaurants, farmers markets, on-farm stores, food trucks, or farm stands 
• Other Food Distributors: food pantries, food closets, faith based organizations, soup kitchens
• Storage: food aggregation facilities, food refrigeration or freezers 
• Transportation: pickup and delivery of food products
• Processing: commercial kitchens, food prep facilities, food washing or cutting facilities

DSB and the Food Council will award approximately 20 grants of up to $12,500. 

Learn more about past projects here. 

Timeline:

Application window opens – May 5, 2025

Application Due Date – completed applications must be submitted electronically by 4:00 p.m. on May 30, 2025 as scanned documents to both:

• dedabusinessportal@delaware.gov

and

• Business_Finance@delaware.gov

Awards made and funds disbursed by – June 13, 2025

To access the application, DSB first requires you to first create an account in the Division of Small Business Portal. This will speed up the disbursement of funding should you be selected as an awardee.   Once you have created your account, you will be able to access the application.

Questions about creating an account? Reference our screen by screen walk through here.