An Introduction to the New USDA Regional Food Centers
USDA announced the funding of 12 USDA Regional Food Business Centers. These Centers will support a more resilient, diverse, and competitive food system by providing localized assistance to access local and regional supply chains, including linking producers to wholesalers and distributors. They will also provide technical assistance needed to access new markets, access to federal, state, and local resources, and will assist small- and mid-sized producers in overcoming barriers to market access, with a focus on underserved farmers, ranchers, and food businesses. This webinar provides an overview of the Centers and a chance to hear from three Center Directors in the West, Delta, and Intertribal Food Business Centers.
Lilian Brislen – USDA Regional Food Business Centers
Lillian Brislen, the deputy director of the local regional foods division at the USDA, shared insights into the agency's investments in the resilience of the nation's local and regional food systems. The USDA's toolkit of programs and initiatives supporting these systems has evolved over decades, with key milestones such as the 1976 Farm to Consumer Direct Marketing Act marking the start of the modern era. The recent Regional Food Business Centers program, emblematic of Secretary Vilsack's food systems transformation framework, invests in regionally driven strategies to build more and better markets for small and mid-sized farmers and food producers.
Situated within the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Lillian's division focuses on developing marketing opportunities for local and regional food systems. The AMS plays a crucial role in coordinating these efforts, serving as a convener, researcher, data provider, technical assistance provider, and funder for local and regional food systems. The Regional Food Business Centers program, authorized through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, is a significant initiative that aims to drive economic opportunities by providing technical assistance, coordinating efforts, and making direct investments into small and mid-sized food and farm businesses. The program involves 12 centers, strategically organized by lead applicants, covering states and territories and fostering network-based collaboration for a more diverse and resilient food system.
Dawn Thilmany – Connecting, Strengthening and Scaling Food Supply Chains in the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Region
Dawn Thilmany, with the Regional Food Business Centers in the Northwest and Rocky Mountains, shared insights into their collaborative approach to address the complex and underserved challenges in their region. Thilmany highlighted the collaborative effort involving approximately 30 collaborators working across six states in the Rocky Mountains and Northwest. The team focuses on building meat supply chain capacity, creating diverse markets for climate-resilient agriculture, connecting and scaling food entrepreneurs, and supporting community-level right-sized investments in infrastructure.
Through strategic partnerships with state departments of agriculture, they aim to create long-term investment pathways and foster deliberative collaborations with farms, ranches and food companies. Thilmany provided a glimpse into the specific initiatives, such as a shared kitchen toolkit, community-based workshops and technical assistance to empower local entrepreneurs, as well as a regional meat school, as well as connecting climate smart market buyers and sellers: all in hopes of building a resilient regional food system. As one recent example, Center partners facilitated the participation of food entrepreneurs from the region in the upcoming Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas to enhance market exposure and networking opportunities. The emphasis on community-level engagement and a person-place lens, including tribal connections, reflects a comprehensive approach to address the diverse needs of the region.
Rockiell Woods – Delta RFBC
Rockiell Woods, the Project Director for the Delta Regional Food Business Center (RFBC), provided valuable insights into the challenges and initiatives undertaken in the Delta region. Located in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the Delta RFBC covers five states, including Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and East Texas, representing 60 percent of America's remaining black farmers and ranchers. Woods emphasized the historical challenges faced by black farmers, such as predatory lending, airship issues, and barriers to organizing collectively, leading to a lack of trust and perceived high risk among farmers.
The Delta RFBC aims to address these challenges by focusing on breaking down barriers, addressing airship issues, and empowering farmers with business-building strategies. Woods highlighted the underutilized acreage among black specialty crop farmers due to factors like a lack of labor and affordability issues with harvesting equipment. The center's tasks include recruiting and training leaders to act collectively, managing expectations realistically, inspiring innovation in new crops, methods, and markets, and providing support to limited-resource black growers. The emphasis on psychological support and building trust underscores the Delta RFBC's commitment to fostering a resilient and thriving agricultural community in the Delta region.
Johanna Herron – National Intertribal Food Business Center
Johanna Herron, representing the National Intertribal Food Business Center, shared insights into their vision and programs aimed at providing technical assistance and capacity-building opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native food producers. The Intertribal Agriculture Council, founded in 1987, operates several programs, including the American Indian Foods program, Technical Assistance Network, Youth Program, Natural Resources, and Regenerative Economies. Herron highlighted their holistic approach to food systems using climate smart practices and regenerative agriculture emphasizing a unified effort to promote positive change in Indian agriculture for the benefit of Indian Country.
The center's Technical Assistance Network, launched in 2011, plays a crucial role in providing specialized support across different regions. Herron outlined the timeline for the upcoming year, with a focus on finalizing a needs assessment, launching a pilot phase for business builder awards and technical assistance tracks, and evaluating progress throughout the year. The partners include the 574 Federally recognized tribes IAC serves and their communities, the Indian Land Trust Fund, Akiptan, and Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative. The partner organizations are essential collaborators in regulatory, financial, and educational aspects of the center's initiatives. Johanna concluded by presenting the vision for capacity investment through business builder awards, emphasizing a rolling application process and two distinct tracks tailored to applicants' levels of experience with technical assistance programs.
This program is supported in part by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Those who register but cannot attend our webinar can always view a recording of it later at the council’s YouTube channel.