Heartland Region Business Builder Subawards

The Heartland Regional Food Business Center will provide financial assistance through Business Builder (BB) Subawards to support projects focused on meeting regional needs and increasing capacity among food and farm businesses working toward expansion in local and regional food markets. BB Subawards will go to projects predominantly aimed at starting or expanding food businesses in the region through value-added opportunities, diversification of on-farm activities, expansion of and/or access to new markets, and/or innovations to generate income. BB Subawards will provide food and farm businesses with the capital needed to launch and expand their businesses while they work to build income streams or identify needed investors.

Eligible project activities include:

• Business planning, feasibility studies, preparing loan applications
• Local food aggregation and distribution or food hub development
• Developing brand and marketing materials, including websites
• Market analysis, brokering services, and outreach to potential customers
• Marketing materials and supplies, and attendance at trade shows focused on local or regional markets
• Developing new products, labels, or packaging, including testing new formulations or recipes
• Improving processing, marketing, and distribution
• Legal support for business resilience, market risk management, and growth
• Training in food safety planning compliance for owners and/or employees
• Worker safety improvements, such as training staff, purchasing safety equipment
• Creating or expanding a farm stand, U-Pick, CSA, or other farm-direct sales platform

Applicants must be located in or serve some or all of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, or 9 counties in northwest Arkansas. Eligible applicants include:

• Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees and less than $3 million in gross annual revenues
• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) status or their fiscal sponsors

Award ceiling: $50,000
Award floor: $5,000
Project period: 1 year
Estimated total program funding: $11,150,000 across 3 rounds of funding

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and the online application portal are available on the program website.

Regularly scheduled office hours for applicants are available on the program website.