September 25th – The Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation (FWF) is pleased to share the impact of their work funded by the CDFA California Underserved Small Producers (CUSP) Grant. The grant program provided funds for direct assistance for individual small and mid-scale and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers who needed support applying for economic relief and assistance with business planning and marketing strategies. This grant award highlights FWF’s growing impact within the Napa Valley farming community.
Utilizing these funds, FWF acted at a time of need, in the wake of economic hardship following the COVID-19 pandemic and the wildfires of 2020. The Foundation partnered with the Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) to increase reach to grape growers in the area. Together, they organized educational sessions on financial relief opportunities for producers and engaged grant writing partner, Morrison and Co., to provide timely technical assistance to help impacted farming operations access critical relief programs.
Forty-three winegrape producers benefited from this one-on-one direct assistance and received nearly $415,000 in state and federal economic relief funds.