[Editor’s note: This is a story OnionBusiness will follow as it unfolds. We will continue to report on the development of these Regional Food Business Centers and their service within their “targeted” geographical regions.]
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Sept. 6 that approximately $400 million has been made available “to provide essential local and regional food systems coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building services through USDA’s new Regional Food Business Centers.”
The agency indicated it “will fund at least six regional centers, to include a national tribal center and at least one center serving each of three targeted areas: Colonias (counties on the US/Mexico border), persistent poverty or other communities of high need/limited resources areas of the Delta and the Southeast, and high need areas of Appalachia as well as centers in other regions of the country.
In a USDA-hosted webinar on Sept. 7, Secretary Vilsack and Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-VA, were introduced by USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. Moffitt, who said the goal is to rebuild the nation’s economy “from the ground up and the middle out,” called the RFBC announcement “a monumental occasion.” Vilsack referenced the COVID-19 pandemic and said the disruption it caused in food supplies showed the need “to transform our food system,” providing local and regional food systems with “more and better markets.”
He went on to say that the agency has in place 50 programs intended to help local and regional producers, but he also said that people didn’t know how to access those programs. The $400 million, he said, will fund at least six regional food centers for up to five years, coordinating efforts across the agencies that are already involved, and giving producers a better understanding of programs available.
The centers are also to provide technical assistance across the food chains and distribute grants as well.
In a pre-webinar press release, Vilsack was quoted as saying, “The USDA Regional Food Business Centers will be a new, critical asset as we continue our work to strengthen and enhance local and regional food systems across the nation. Regional Food Business Centers will serve as USDA’s cornerstone in the development of the local and regional supply chains, building on lessons learned during the pandemic, providing technical assistance, and creating new market opportunities in areas where the need is greatest.”
Moffitt is also quoted as saying, “USDA is committed to supporting smaller producers, processors, and distributors to diversify economic opportunities in underserved communities. The USDA Regional Food Business Centers will decrease barriers and improve supply chain linkages for producers, processors and distributors and strengthen regional food systems networks and partnerships in response to hardships and vulnerabilities exposed by recent national emergencies, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic.”
And Spanberger praised the USDA for “laying the groundwork” to mitigate rising costs shared across the spectrum, from inputs growers are forced to buy, which she called “an outright crisis,” to transportation costs for shippers and higher prices at check-out for consumers.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is soliciting applications from organizations nationwide to develop the geographically based Regional Food Business Centers to serve regional needs. Applicants must define the regions that their proposed Regional Food Business Center will serve, specifying high-needs priority areas within that region.
USDA also intends to make awards to Regional Food Business Centers that serve other areas of the country beyond those explicitly listed above, the release said.
All applications to lead a Regional Food Business Center must come from a partnership consisting of three or more eligible entities representing at least two of the eligible entity types. Eligible entities include producer networks or associations, food councils, tribal governments, state agencies or regional authorities, institutions of higher education, nonprofit corporations, economic development corporations, and partnerships between one or more eligible entities.” Applications must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET Nov. 22. To receive funding, the applications will undergo an administrative review to ensure the proposed activities fulfill the purpose of Regional Food Business Centers.
