Preparing for Funding: A Self-Guided Learning Journey for Food and Farm Businesses
June 19, 2025 - Jamie Rahrig, John McCarthy
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EmailThis resource is an on-demand, self-guided learning opportunity for food and farm businesses considering applying for grants and/or financing. In this video series, Jamie Rahrig, Director of Food and Farm Business Assistance, and John McCarthy, Grants Support Specialist, both of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems and Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center, share fundraising strategies to start, launch, and expand food and farm businesses in these short educational modules.
Module 1: Overview of the resource
Module 2: Preparing for grant funding
Module 3: Preparing for financing
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The Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center plans to launch the first competitive phase of its Business Builder Subaward program in 2025 for farmers, farm collectives or cooperatives in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin or harvesters/producers located on federally recognized tribal lands in the region. Future subaward opportunities will be available for other food and farm business sectors. Over $10 million dollars will be distributed to assistance providers and eligible business owners over the next three years.
About the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center
The Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center is dedicated to offering coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building opportunities for farmers, producers, and other food business owners, in support of a more resilient and competitive food system.
Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (MI) coordinates the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center that is comprised of network coordinators – Chicago Food Policy Action Council (IL) https://www.chicagofoodpolicy.com/, Northwest Indiana Food Council (IN) https://www.nwifoodcouncil.org/, Food Finance Institute at the University of Wisconsin System (WI) https://foodfinanceinstitute.org/ , and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Food Systems https://www.menominee-nsn.gov/ – who seek to take a transformational, rather than transactional, approach. Learn more at https://www.canr.msu.edu/glm-rfbc.
Support for the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service Regional Food Business Centers Program. The 12 USDA Regional Food Business Centers support all 50 U.S. States and Territories, and are inclusive of all types of agricultural products produced locally or regionally.
