USDA announces $400M in funding available to create USDA regional food business centers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the availability of approximately $400 million to provide essential local and regional food systems coordination, technical assistance, and capacity-building services through USDA’s new regional food business centers.
“The USDA regional food business centers will be a new, critical asset as we continue our work to strengthen and enhance local and regional food systems across the nation,” Vilsack said in a news release. “Regional food business centers will serve as USDA’s cornerstone in the development of the local and regional supply chains, building on lessons learned during the pandemic, providing technical assistance and creating new market opportunities in areas where the need is greatest.”
USDA will fund at least six regional centers, to include a national tribal center and at least one center serving each of three targeted areas: Colonias (counties on the US/Mexico border); persistent poverty or other communities of high need/limited resources in the areas of the Delta and the Southeast; and high-need areas of Appalachia, as well as centers in other regions of the country, the release said.
The USDA said the regional food business centers will provide coordination, technical assistance and capacity-building to help farmers, ranchers and other food businesses access new markets and navigate federal, state and local resources, thereby closing the gaps or barriers to success. The regional food business centers will assist small and mid-sized producers, and food and farm businesses, with the goal of creating a more resilient, diverse and competitive food system.
“USDA is committed to supporting smaller producers, processors and distributors to diversify economic opportunities in underserved communities,” USDA Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt said in the release. “The USDA regional food business centers will decrease barriers and improve supply chain linkages for producers, processors and distributors, and strengthen regional food systems networks and partnerships in response to hardships and vulnerabilities exposed by recent national emergencies, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Agricultural Marketing Service published a request for applications for this program. AMS is soliciting applications from organizations across the nation to develop the regional food business centers that will be geographically based and serving regional needs. Applicants must define the regions that their proposed centers will serve, specifying high-needs priority areas within that region.
USDA also intends to make awards to regional food business centers that serve other areas of the country beyond those explicitly listed above.
The regional food business centers serving these high-need priority areas will identify farm to market linkages across its proposed geographic area to reach a variety of markets. Further guidance for applications is available in the USDA's published request for applications document.
All applications to lead a regional food business center must come from a partnership consisting of three or more eligible entities representing at least two of the eligible entity types, according to the release. Eligible entities include producer networks or associations, food councils, tribal governments, state agencies or regional authorities, institutions of higher education, nonprofit corporations, economic development corporations, and partnerships between one or more eligible entities.
Application submission
Applications must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. EST on Nov. 22.
To receive funding, the applications will undergo an administrative review to ensure the proposed activities fulfill the purpose of regional food business centers. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered for funding, the USDA said.
AMS encourages applications for initiatives that benefit smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers and underserved communities. For grants intending to serve these entities, applicants should engage and involve those beneficiaries when developing projects and applications. For more information about grant eligibility, visit the Regional Food Business Centers Program webpage, or contact us at RegionalFoodCenters@usda.gov.
Technical assistance
AMS offers technical assistance for new applicants to help walk them through the process and provide tips on writing a successful application. Contact RegionalFoodCenters@usda.gov for additional assistance.
