Minnesota climate smart food systems (CSFS)
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) industrial innovation in food systems program provides competitive grant funding to food and beverage manufacturing facilities and food system organic waste processing sites to cut climate pollution, improve efficiency, and reduce waste. Funding will help ensure that Minnesota’s food and beverage industry remains competitive, operational, and located within Minnesota.
The MPCA is soliciting proposals to distribute $40 million in grant funding to support industrial food and beverage manufacturers and food system organic waste processors across Minnesota.
Funding is intended to execute capital expenditure (capex) projects at facilities that will improve operational efficiency, reduce operating costs, and lessen environmental impacts by reducing greenhouse emissions, criteria air pollutants, hazardous air pollutants, and/or waste.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed quarterly. Eligible applications received by 5 p.m. Central Time on the quarterly deadline (July 1, October 1, January 1, and April 1 of each year) will be reviewed and evaluated. This will continue until funds are fully encumbered, or April 1, 2028, whichever occurs first.
Questions and answers
MPCA employees are not authorized to discuss this RFP with applicants outside of the Q&A forum. Please submit questions about this grant to grants.pca@state.mn.us with the subject line “Questions for Industrial Innovation Implementation Grants.” MPCA will reply to questions on a rolling basis as they are received. Answers to questions will be posted frequently on this web page.
Informational meeting
The MPCA will hold an informational webinar at 11 a.m. on May 14, 2026, to provide attendees with an overview of the program, eligibility, and applicable requirements. The webinar will close with a Q&A, in which applicants can ask questions concerning the RFP; questions from the meeting will be posted on this webpage.
Eligibility
Applicant eligibility
The entity’s target facility must be in Minnesota or serve Minnesota, including Tribal lands. The following entities are eligible:
- Food and beverage manufacturing facility and related support: A commercial or industrial facility that produces finished, packaged food or beverage products through mechanical, physical, or chemical methods using raw materials and bulk ingredients and standardized processes, specialized equipment, and controlled facility environments. These facilities typically operate continuously or in high-volume batches following strict quality, safety, and regulatory standards with the goal of producing consistent, safe, and commercially distributable products efficiently and at scale. The primary products are intended for human or animal consumption and are produced with the intention of wholesale, distribution, or retail sales.
- Food system organic waste processor: A food system organic waste processor can be public or private and includes but is not limited to a solid waste landfill, wastewater treatment facility, anaerobic digestion facility, or source-separated organic material (SSOM) compost facility. Dependent on their permit, these facilities may process and manage food system municipal or industrial waste. Solid waste landfills, SSOMs, and anaerobic digestion facilities typically accept and process food system materials such as wasted food, food scraps, and/or compostable food service ware products. Wastewater facilities may process food system materials such as liquid waste, biosolids, industrial byproducts, and wastewater. Anaerobic digestion facilities that process manure are also considered a food system organic waste processor.
Project eligibility
Eligible projects include those that reduce GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3); examples include but are not limited to:
Reduction of utility energy demands, such as:
- advanced air conditioning and low global warming potential refrigerants
- boiler upgrades/economizers, condensate return, or steam traps
- distributed energy resources (solar, electric battery storage, thermal battery, or other power generation)
- electrification of equipment (roasters, boilers, dryers, ovens, etc.)
- energy efficiency equipment (high-efficiency electric pumps, motors, compressors, and/or lighting)
- energy efficiency materials for building envelopes or infrastructure
- fuel-switching to low carbon fuels such as biomass, solar-thermal, renewable natural gas, etc.
- fugitive emissions reduction
- hydrogen-fueled stationary equipment
- industrial heat pumps
- mobile or stationary combustion emissions reduction
- process efficiency or process change
- process water usage reduction
- smart energy systems (building energy management systems, sensors and controls, automatic boiler blowdown, compressed air, etc.)
- utilizing peak-shaving, load-shifting, or curtailed renewable energy
- variable volume or load efficiency equipment
- other energy efficiency technologies as approved by the MPCA
Reduction or recycling of waste, such as:
- anaerobic digesters
- carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) or carbon management
- combined heat and power
- food waste valorization technologies or food waste recovery equipment
- waste heat recovery technology or systems
- waste reduction (organic, solid, water, or wastewater)
- other technologies that reduce or recycle waste as approved by the MPCA
Available funds
Total funding available: $40 million as of April 2026
- Grant size: $50,000 to $8 million to cover up to 60% of total project costs.
- Match: Grant recipients must provide a minimum of 40% of the total project costs and match may not be sourced through other federal funding.
Grants will be made by project size:
How to apply
Review the RFP. Download and closely review the following materials:
- (includes the work plan template and exhibits)
Apply via email. Grant applications are only accepted through email. To apply, you must complete and email all required application documents to grants.pca@state.mn.us with the subject line “Application for Industrial Innovation Implementation Grant.”
- application form, including the work plan (Microsoft Word format)
- Exhibits C, D, E, and F attached with the application form (Microsoft Word format)
- budget template (Microsoft Excel format)
- supporting documentation as outlined in the RFP (any format)
More information
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded Minnesota $200 million to cut climate pollution from our state’s food systems through the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. Led by the MPCA in collaboration with other state agencies, local governments, and Tribal Nations, the climate-smart food systems initiative will distribute this investment through multiple programs through September 2029.