Shared kitchens build food business community
Incubator kitchens offer essential space, equipment and mentorship. They also bring together a community of entrepreneurs who can learn from one another.
Local Food Study Highlights Need, Opportunity
Nebraska food economy report provides enlightening view of local farm and food business potential.
Business Builder Round 1
The Heartland Regional Food Business Center has selected 89 food and farm enterprises for $3.7 million in Round 1 funding through its USDA Business Builder Subaward grant program. Finalization of grant awards is currently on hold pending U.S. Secretary of Agriculture review of the RFBC program.
Cracking the Code on Egg Prices
Two Heartland Regional Food Business Center clients from the greater Kansas City region teamed up to raise chickens. One is a farm. The other is a restaurant in need of a steady, local supply of eggs and steady, affordable prices.
Heartland Center Performance Data
The Heartland Regional Food Business Center’s team of 32 business support organizations have been busy since the program’s 2023 start. They have been serving clients across the region and working to build a strong and sustainable network dedicated to building the local and regional food economy.
School District Bakes Local
The Lawrence, Kansas, school district’s new Community Connections Bakery will source 51 percent of its grains from local farmers. It will produce whole grain baked goods for school meals serving some 10,000 K-12 students.
Strong First Round for Business Builder
Round 1 of the Heartland Center’s Business Builder grant program received funding requests from 479 applicants totaling $20,021,077, with an average request of $41,798.
Turtle Island Trade Coalition part of building Indigenous food sovereignty
The Turtle Island Trade Coalition is an Indigenous-created and Indigenous-led program embedded within the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), established specifically to develop a Great Plains Indigenous food hub and restore historical trade relationships.
Videos: Scaling up to institutional sales
Heartland Center collaborator Springfield Community Gardens brought together industry experts for a two-part webinar series on expanding to institutional sales.
USDA and the Heartland Regional Food Business Center Make Available Over $3.7 Million to Farm and Food Businesses in First Round of Business Builder Grants
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Heartland Regional Food Business Center (RFBC) today announced the availability of over $3.7 million in Business Builder Grants to support small, mid-sized, and diverse food and farm entrepreneurs. … Continued