Center for Regional Food Systems Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center

Please note that this resource now includes out-of-date information. Per the USDA announcement on July 15, 2025, the Regional Food Business Centers program was terminated, prior to its original end date of July 2028. Because of this, the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center halted operations on September 15, 2025 and was unable to responsibly launch the Business Builder Subaward and assistances programs. Please see our related press release. Resources intended to help food and farm businesses will remain freely available on this website and additional resources can be found at foodsystems.msu.edu/resources. 

In this supplementary resource for the  Grants 101 webinar from the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center, farmers, Tribal producers, and food business owners will find a step-by-step guide to what they can do now to prepare for grant applications, including what to consider when applying and tips for writing grants that get funded. This resource includes five steps to applying for grants, general grant writing resources, where to look for grant funding support, and key takeaways from the webinar.

As part of the webinar, featured speakers, Porchea McGuire, Equity and Engagement Coordinator, NWI Food Council, and John Jamerson, Owner, Legacy Taste of the Garden, shared their insights on writing for and applying for grant funding. They joined Julie Jesmer and Jamie Rahrig of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems and the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center who shared more about the upcoming Business Builder grant opportunities.

This webinar took place on August 22, 2024 as part of the What you Need to Know Webinar series.

Webinar:

Grant funding, provided by the USDA, will be available across the Great Lakes Midwest starting in late 2024. This includes the first phase of the Business Builder Program for food and/or farm businesses in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Over $10 million dollars will be distributed to technical assistance providers and eligible business owners over the next four years.

For more information about future events and resources, interested parties can visit https://www.canr.msu.edu/glm-rfbc/ or email glm-rfbc@msu.edu.

Contributors

• A.J. Ellison, Clerical, Aide On-call, webinar synthesis
• Emma Beauchamp, Communication Strategist, communication guidance
• Melissa Hill, Communication Manager, design and layout

About the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center

The Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center was 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) coordinated the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center comprised of network coordinators – Chicago Food Policy Action Council (IL), Northwest Indiana Food Council (IN), Food Finance Institute of the University of Wisconsin System (WI), and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Food Systems – who sought to take a transformational, rather than transactional, approach. Learn more at glm-rfbc.msu.edu.

Support for the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center came 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.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. USDA Non-Discrimination Statement