Urban Ag and Food Systems PAT Request

Bill Miller, University of Massachusetts, is currently serving as Cooperative Extension Section Leader for the ECOP Program Action Team (PAT) on Urban Agriculture and Food Systems. He invites his fellow Extension Directors and Administrators to 1) check out the latest at https://pats.extension.org/urban/ and 2) encourage state/county/tribal personnel with urban ag professional interest to respond to 2-minute survey to at https://registry.extension.org/223214332872046 to say how they might like to be involved to move forward with a national program. Please submit responses by the end of the day Thursday, December 15, 2022.

Opportunity to Review/Update FCC National Broadband Map – Impacts State Funding - On November 18, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shared its new draft National Broadband Map. The new map shows broadband availability at a more granular level, compared with the FCC’s prior map at the Census block level. This map is important in that it will be used to help determine each state’s share of the Broadband Equity, Access Deployment’s $42.45 billion program funds. Please share the following steps widely throughout regional/county/tribal listservs to review the map for accuracy and submit challenges to the data. Deadline: January 13, 2023. Please pardon any duplication of effort to spread the word. Thank you.

1. View map https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home
2. Share outreach resources with stakeholders throughout state/county/community https://www.fcc.gov/national-broadband-map-outreach-toolkit
3. Aid/encourage submission of challenges where relevant (especially for those without service) https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/bdc-challenge-overview.pdf
4. View video on how to submit an availability challenge at https://youtu.be/fiFoxZKywv4

Public Health AmeriCorps Funding Opportunity - AmeriCorps and the CDC are seeking proposals to grow the nation’s public health workforce. Learn more about the grant criteria and technical assistance opportunities here. The deadline for applications to the 2023 AmeriCorps State and National Public Health AmeriCorps Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is Wednesday, January 4, 2023 by 5:00 p.m. ET. Please contact AmeriCorpsGrants@cns.gov for additional guidance. AmeriCorps State and National expects that successful applicants will be notified by mid April 2023. Land-grant Health Contacts, FCS and 4-H Youth Development Specialists may have already received information through other resources.