All Regional Food Business Centers administer a Business Builder award program as part of their Capacity Building goals. Business Builder awards provide direct financial assistance of up to $100,000 to eligible small and mid-sized farms and food businesses. Awards are made for business, market, and supply chain development projects aimed at increasing business viability, developing regional market opportunities, and expanding value chain capacity.
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.