USDA Regional Food Business Centers Program

USDA is in the process of finalizing cooperative agreements with the 12 finalists selected to establish the USDA Regional Food Business Centers.

The USDA Regional Food Business Centers will offer Business Builder grants within their assigned regions as their agreements are finalized and Centers are established. To view the status of each Center’s Business Builder grant, visit the Regional Food Business Center Business Builder webpage.

  1. Appalachia USDA Regional Food Business Center - Rural Action, Inc.
  2. Delta USDA Regional Food Business Center - Mississippi Delta Council for Farmworker Opportunities can be contacted at admin@deltarfbc.org
  3. Rio Grande Colonias USDA Regional Food Business Center - Texas A&M AgriLife The Center can be contacted at rgcolonias@ag.tamu.edu
  4. Great Lakes Midwest USDA Regional Food Business Center - Michigan State University
  5. Heartland USDA Regional Food Business Center - University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  6. Islands and Remote Areas USDA Regional Food Business Center - Hawaii Good Food Alliance
  7. North Central USDA Regional Food Business Center - Region Five Development Commission. The Center can be contacted at northcentralrfbc@gmail.com
  8. Northeast USDA Regional Food Business Center - National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Foundation
  9. Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center - Colorado State University
  10. Southeast USDA Regional Food Business Center - Georgia Minority Outreach Network
  11. Southwest USDA Regional Food Business Center - University of California This Center can be contacted at info@swfoodbiz.org
  12. National Intertribal Food Business Center - Intertribal Agriculture Council can be contacted at ifbc@indianag.org

This map of the United States that shows the names of the 12 regional food business centers and their associated regions. The centers are named National Intertribal Food Business Center, Northwest and Rocky Mountains Food Business Center, Southwest Food Business Center, North Central Food Business Center, Heartland Food Business Center, Rio Grande ColoniasFood Business Center, Great Lakes Midwest Food Business Center, Delta Food Business Center, Appalachia Food Business Center, Northeast Food Business Center, Southwest Food Business Center, and Island and Remote Areas Food Business Center.  Clicking on this map will open a PDF file that describes the regions in more detail.

The USDA Regional Food Business Centers will support a more resilient, diverse, and competitive food system.  These Regional Food Centers will support producers by providing localized assistance to access local and regional supply chains, including linking producers to wholesalers and distributors. They will provide technical assistance needed to access new markets, access to federal, state, and local resources, and will assist small- and mid-sized producers in overcoming barriers to market access, with a focus on underserved farmers, ranchers, and food businesses.  No match is required. 

USDA Regional Food Business Centers will have three main responsibilities:

  • Coordination - The Regional Food Centers will act as regional hubs coordinating across geographic areas with USDA, other federal, state, and tribal agencies with relevant resources, regional commissions, stakeholders, and the other Regional Food Centers. They will engage with stakeholders and partners to develop and implement strategic and funding plans for serving the region through technical assistance and capacity building. They will conduct outreach to underserved communities and businesses.
  • Technical Assistance - The Regional Food Centers will provide direct business technical assistance to small- and mid-sized food and farm businesses (producers, processors, aggregators, distributors, and other businesses within the food supply chain) and food value and supply chain coordination. Each Regional Food Center will identify priority areas for technical assistance (e.g., aggregation/distribution, specialty crop processing for institutions) for the region it plans to serve.
  • Capacity Building – The Regional Food Centers will provide financial assistance through business builder subawards up to $100,000 to support projects focused on regional needs and businesses that are working towards expansion and other investment. These subawards may support staff time, business planning activities, software implementation, the purchase of special purpose equipment, such as food safety, processing and packaging equipment, and value chain coordination, and other expenses associated as outlined in the RFA.

For further questions, visit our list of FAQs or contact us at RegionalFoodCenters@usda.gov