About Us

This work is supported by the Food Safety Outreach Program [grant no. 2023-70020-40631] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture titled “Empowering Minority Serving Institutions Food Safety Specialists To Write Successful Food Safety Outreach Program Grants Through Education, Training And Technical Assistance”.

This grant aims to strengthen Minority Serving Institutions organizational systems and increase the effectiveness of grantsmanship, which will result in Capacity Building and expansion of research and extension/outreach portfolios. 

The overarching goal of this proposal is to advance Minority Serving Institutions ability to secure external grant funding by developing a targeted toolkit for grant writers at minority-serving institutions to ensure that they can provide food safety education to the populations they serve. This goal requires education, training, and technical assistance on the fundamentals of how to develop a strong, merit-based proposal package. 

Objectives of this Grant Project

1. Identify a cadre of Minority Serving Institutions food safety specialists eligible for the FSOP grant program;
2. Development of the grant writing toolkit, professional development education and training opportunities, and technical assistance mechanisms; and
3. Delivery and implementation of the FSOP grant writing toolkit, professional development education and training, and technical assistance opportunities.

What is a Minority Serving Institution? 

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights, 

the Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Program taps into the talents of students and faculty attending our nation's MSIs with the hopes of fulfilling the Department's mission and objectives. To accomplish this mission, we need the best and brightest individuals to work at and partner with the Department. The Department is proud to work with MSI partners through in-kind services, volunteerism, diverse hiring, grants and contacts.

MSIs are institutions of higher education that serve minority populations. They are unique both in their missions and in their day-to-day operations. Some of these colleges and universities are located in remote regions of the country, whereas others serve urban neighborhoods. Some are only a few decades old, whereas others, have been striving for more than a century to give their constituents the social and educational skills needed to overcome racial discrimination and limited economic opportunities.

MSIs fall into the following categories: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACUs), Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institution (ANNH), Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI), Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).

Number of Institutions Included in Each Category of MSIs in 2022