USDA and Heartland taking applications for $3.7 million food businesses grant

Farmers and food businesses are both eligible for a $3.7 million grant from the USDA and Heartland Regional Food Business Center. (Susan J. Demas/Michigan Advance)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Heartland Regional Food Business Center are accepting grant applications from small- to mid-sized farmers and food businesses in the central United States.

The first round of Business Builder Grants is worth about $3.7 million, and awardees will receive $5,000 to $50,000. Only projects based in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and northwest Arkansas are eligible to apply.

The grants can be used for business expansion, job creation, increasing production or new facilities, according to a press release.

USDA Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt said in the press release that these grants allow for smaller food businesses and farms to expand their business and create new revenue streams.

“The Regional Food Business Centers are a cornerstone of USDA’s food system transformation efforts, serving to help farmers, ranchers and other food businesses access the resources and technical assistance they need to access new markets,” Moffitt said.

Heartland will prioritize applicants who come from diverse backgrounds, who have physical disabilities, who serve an important role in their local food system, who are unsure about available resources and who are eager to grow their business, according to the release.

Heartland Co-Director Katie Nixon said in the press release that these grants will help strengthen local food systems across the six eligible states.

“The Business Builder grant opportunity will inject much-needed capital for building and strengthening local food systems in the Heartland,” Nixon said. “We are excited and ready to provide technical assistance to applicants on their ideas and applications. We are here to support our food and farm businesses in their efforts to feed their communities.”

Applications for the first round of grants are due Oct. 15. A one-hour informational webinar about how to apply for the grants will be held Aug. 28.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch , a sister site of the Nebraska Examiner in the States Newsroom network.