Do you have a great Austin food idea?  Today we’d like to share some great news for aspiring Austin food entrepreneurs:

In order to make Austin an even cooler place to live, the Austin Food & Wine Alliance will award $20,000 in grants (one for $10,000 and two for $5,000 each) to individuals and culinary nonprofits who have unique ideas that will bring something new to the Austin food scene or enrich the local community. These grants are intended to encourage great ideas and to support local chefs, farmers, wine/beer/spirit makers, bartenders, artisan producers, or food related nonprofits in the Austin area.

Grant applications are available online now at austinfoodwinealliance.org/grants, and you can submit them until the October 19, 2012 deadline.  Winners will be picked by the end of November.

To apply, head over to the AFWA website for complete details or read the press release attached to the rest of this post:

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$20,000 Available to Austin’s Culinary Innovators with Unique, First-of-Its-Kind Grant Program

AUSTIN, TX (September 10, 2012) – After gaining tremendous community support since its founding a short 9-months ago, the Austin Food & Wine Alliance announced today that $20,000 in grants will be given this year to support chefs, farmers, wine-, beer- and spirit-makers, artisan producers and food-focused nonprofits based on culinary innovation and community giveback.

Austin Food & Wine Alliance (AFWA), Central Texas’ newest culinary non-profit, which is dedicated to fostering education, awareness and innovation in the Central Texas food and wine community, has doubled its original goal due to strong community partnerships and successful fundraising events. The Alliance’s grant program is the first in the nation to provide funding to support culinary innovation that contributes to the local community.

“Because of amazing community support, we are thrilled to be able to give this sizable amount of funding for grants to benefit and highlight the talent, craftsmanship and innovativeness of the Austin culinary community,” said Cathy Cochran-Lewis, AFWA president. “Rewarding innovation and community support in the culinary field is unique and fully represents the fearlessness and cutting-edge philosophy of Austin and its food and wine influencers.”

Austin Food & Wine Alliance will award three grants, one at $10,000 and two at $5,000 each to culinary nonprofits and individuals. The application process opens Sept. 11 and extends until midnight, October 19, 2012. Grant applications are available online at austinfoodwinealliance.org/grants.

“We were committed to developing a simplified process for the grants,” said Mariam Parker, AFWA executive director. “We’ve invited a private panel of prominent culinary professionals and community members to carefully consider the applications and name the grant recipients. Each year, we will invite a new panel to make the grant decisions.”

The AFWA 2012 Grant Selection Committee will award the grants based on meeting the grant criteria, application information and goals of each applicant. All applicants will be notified no later than November 30, 2012. Grants will be awarded at a ceremony on December 12, 2012 at the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center.

Grant funding was generated through support from the Austin Food & Wine Festival, Whole Foods Market®, Maker’s Mark® Bourbon and FreshPoint Produce and the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, along with proceeds from the hugely successful Live Fire! event hosted as the kickoff to last Spring’s inaugural Austin Food & Wine Festival.

The Alliance is the designated beneficiary of the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival, a three-day tribute to world-renown chefs and winemakers and held each spring in Austin.  In addition, the Alliance also features educational programming and culinary events showcasing Central Texas’ chef talent along with artisan and local producers, world-class wine- and spirit-makers and craft brewers.

Upcoming events include the Wine & Swine Annual Pig Roast to be hosted at Pioneer Farm, Sunday, November 4, 1 – 5 pm, offering an afternoon filled with remarkable wines, craft brews and spirits, live music and more than a dozen top Central Texas chefs showcasing their unique pig-roasting style. Tickets go on sale September 24 at AustinFoodWineAlliance.org.

For more information about the AFWA, visit AustinFoodWineAlliance.org, call 512. 659.7153 or email Info@AustinFoodWineAlliance.org. The AFWA mailing address is PO Box 685306, Austin, TX, 78768. Stay up to date with Austin Food & Wine Alliance happenings on Facebook http://facebook.com/austinfoodwinealliance and Twitter http://twitter.com/ATXFoodWineAlly.

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The Austin Food & Wine Alliance is a nonprofit organization* dedicated to fostering awareness and innovation in the Central Texas culinary community through grants, educational programming and events. Guided by an all-volunteer board of directors and committees made up of culinary-and-community-minded professionals, the Alliance’s commitment is to promote Texas food, wine, spirits and craft brews and to increase appreciation of Texas’ culinary impact. The AFWA is the designated beneficiary of the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival. For more information about the Austin Food & Wine Alliance, visit AustinFoodWineAlliance.org.

*501(c)3 filed & pending IRS approval.