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.
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.
Community Food Infrastructure is Bottom Line
The new Heartland Regional Food Business Center includes community food system initiatives among its working partnerships for their ground-level work developing essential capacity and connections.
Business assistance network scales up
Heartland Regional Food Business Center partners are adding staff and connecting efforts to help ensure that small, mid-size diversified farm and food businesses find the help they need no matter who they are, or where they are.
New 5-state resource network for small and mid-size farm and food businesses
The Heartland Regional Food Business Center is dedicated to the business building needed to make local food an everyday, easy choice in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and northwest Arkansas.
USDA Announces Finalists for Twelve New USDA Regional Food Business Centers and $420 Million in Funding to Strengthen Food Supply Chain Infrastructure
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces the creation of 12 new USDA Regional Food Business Centers that will provide coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses across the nation.