USDA Regional Food Business Centers
As many of you are aware, AMS has launched the USDA Regional Food Business Centers – a $400 million investment to provide essential local and regional food systems coordination, technical assistance, and capacity-building services. The Regional Food Business Centers will build on USDA grants and cooperative agreement work through larger regional-scale investments, which will encourage locally-driven planning and scaled-up solutions to fit regional needs.
The USDA Regional Food Centers will offer regionally tailored activities to increase food and farm business and finance acumen; create more and better markets and increase market awareness and access, ensure small and mid-size producers have the opportunity to gain access to distributors, retail outlets and institutions; increase the number of new food and farm businesses and viability of existing businesses; and increase the revenue of food and farm business served.
USDA Regional Food Centers will strengthen regional food systems networks and partnerships in response to hardships and vulnerabilities exposed by recent national emergencies, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic. They will also build on the resilient strategies exhibited in local and regional food systems across the country. As communities emerge from COVID-19 seeking to build resilience in their food systems and improve markets for the farmers and ranchers most affected, the USDA Regional Food Business Centers will be ready to support that recovery and growth.
We encourage you to share the program information with your stakeholders. You can find more information about the USDA Regional Food Business Centers on the program’s web page at: www.ams.usda.gov/regionalcenters or contact us at RegionalFoodCenters@usda.gov
Important Dates:
Application Opens: Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Program Webinar: Monday, September 19, 2022, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time;
Application Closes: November 22, 2022, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time