• All Center Key Highlights Brief July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 (pdf)

This is an interim report reflecting the first (of five) year of Regional Food Business Center (RFBC) Program activity as reported in the semi-annual Performance Progress Reports submitted by the 12 Centers.

Local and Regional Foods Division Research and Resources Webinar: Regional Food Business Center Program Highlights

Recorded Thursday, October 17, 2024, 1:00 PM ET

Recorded webinar featuring an update on the Regional Food Business Center Program, including representatives from different centers sharing about their region-specific initiatives and activities. This webinar also shares information on the centers’ impacts over the first year of the program and highlight how stakeholders can get involved with their local center.

• Oct 17, 2024 Notes (pdf)
• Oct 17, 2024 Slide Deck (pdf)
• Oct 17, 2024 Webinar Recording

You must follow the requirements provided in your notice of award and in the AMS General Terms and Conditions 2023 (pdf) and Regional Food Business Centers Program Specific Terms and Conditions (pdf)

How do I submit a payment request?

You must complete and submit the following documentation:

• AMS Grant Program Worksheet (xls)
• SF-270 Request for Advance or Reimbursement – Form

Below are instructions and sample forms to assist you in submitting a request.

• SF-270_General Instructions (pdf)
• Sample SF-270 Narrative_Subsequent Request_Reimbursement (pdf)
• Sample SF-270 Form_Subsequent Request_Reimbursement (pdf)

How do I report on my agreement’s progress?

You must submit Semi-Annual (every six months) Performance Reports and SF-425 Federal Financial Reports to show the progress of your award throughout the performance period. These reports are due no later than 30 calendar days after each performance reporting period end date. The final reports, including performance and financial, are due 120 days after the end of the agreement.

You must complete and submit the following documentation:

• Semi-Annual Performance Report (pdf)
• SF-425 Federal Financial Status Report (pdf)

Below are tools to assist you in submitting a Performance Report or Federal Financial Status Report.

• Performance Measures Data Collection Guide (pdf) – created by the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program and can be used to help complete the Performance Report.
• SF-425 Instructions (pdf)
• Sample Final SF-425 Federal Financial Status Report (pdf)

How do I report on special purpose equipment/unused supplies in excess of $5,000 purchased through my agreement?

If you purchase special purpose equipment or have unused supplies in excess of $5,000 you must submit a Tangible Personal Property Report within 90 days after your agreement’s expiration date, which includes completing and submitting the following documentation:

• SF-428-B Final Report (pdf)
• SF-428S Supplemental Sheet (pdf)
• Sample SF-428-B and SF-428-S Form (pdf)

If you determine at any time during your agreement, except at close out, to sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of the equipment, you must request disposition instructions from AMS by completing and submitting the following documentation:

• SF-428-C Disposition Request/Report (pdf)
• SF-428S Supplemental Sheet (pdf)

The USDA Regional Food Business Centers application period is closed. The deadline for submitting applications to AMS was January 6, 2023, at 11:59 pm EST.  Applications received after the due date will be subject to the AMS’ – Policy on Late Applications. Please refer to the AMS’ Late Applications, Denials and/or Appeal Procedures (pdf) for further information.

What are the application requirements?

You can find the requirements for submitting an application in the Request for Applications.

• 2022 USDA Regional Food Business Centers Request for Applications (RFA) (pdf)
• USDA Regional Food Business Centers FAQs

Each application must include the following forms:

• Project Abstract Summary – found on grants.gov
• USDA Regional Food Business Centers Narrative Form (doc)
• USDA Regional Food Business Centers Project Narrative Guide (pdf) – This document provides guidance for how to complete the Narrative Form.
• Key Partner Budget Form (docx)
• Forms SF-424 can be found with the www.grants.gov website application submission.
• Partner Organization Letter Template (docx)
• Accounting System Financial Capability Questionnaire (docx)
• Collaborators’ Letters of Support (docx)

If applicable, application packages are required to include the following documents:

• Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

The Business Builder award program is intended for small and mid-sized food and farm businesses including producers, processors, aggregators, distributors, and other businesses within the food supply chain. The award is also meant for food value and supply chain coordination. The awards may support staff time; business planning activities; software implementation; the purchase of specialized equipment for food safety, processing and/or packaging. Value chain and supply chain coordination and innovation; product development; and marketing may also be supported by Business Builder awards. To learn more about each Center’s Business Builder award program, including program status, visit the Business Builder Grant Status page on the RFBC website.

Appalachia USDA Regional Food Business Center
Rural Action, Inc.
info@appalachiaRFBC.org

Delta USDA Regional Food Business Center
Mississippi Delta Council for Farmworker Opportunities
admin@deltarfbc.org

Rio Grande Colonias USDA Regional Food Business Center
Texas A&M AgriLife
rgcolonias@ag.tamu.edu

Great Lakes Midwest USDA Regional Food Business Center
Michigan State University
glm-rfbc@msu.edu

Heartland USDA Regional Food Business Center
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Heartland Center Contact Information

Islands and Remote Areas USDA Regional Food Business Center
Hawaii Good Food Alliance
Islands and Remote Areas Center Contact Information

North Central USDA Regional Food Business Center 
Region Five Development Commission
northcentralrfbc@gmail.com

Northeast USDA Regional Food Business Center
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Foundation
Northeast Center Contact Information

Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center
Colorado State University
Northwest and Rocky Mountain Center Contact Information

Southeast USDA Regional Food Business Center
Locus/Georgia Minority Outreach Network

Southwest USDA Regional Food Business Center
University of California
info@swfoodbiz.org

National Intertribal Food Business Center
Intertribal Agriculture Council
ifbc@indianag.org

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.

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.

This new platform is much easier to navigate and has many new features for business owners to leverage. Over the next few months, we’ll be ironing out the bugs on the platform and working with partners to add more businesses to the directories, so that when summer rolls around this site will be packed with information for consumers across the country. New features include:

• Account creation making it easier for market manager to update their listings
• Combining all directories under on platform.
• New Agritourism Directory
• New fields such as affinity groups
• Mobile compatibility
• Integration with Google Maps and Apple Maps.

If you manage a food hub, farmers market, CSA or agritourism venture, please take the time to log in to the new site and look around.