What you need to know: Loan Readiness for First Time Borrowers Webinar – June 4, 2025
June 18, 2025 - Madelina DiLisi, Jazmin Bolan-Williamson
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EmailThe Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center’s Michigan team hosted a virtual training on June 4, 2025 to break down the steps of the lending process for farm and food business owners who are first-time borrowers. It is common for farm and food businesses to seek financing to assist with reimbursement-based grants and funding programs.
In this session, Jazmin Bolan-Williamson and Madelina DiLisi of Michigan State University's Center for Regional Food Systems shared a loan readiness checklist and presented on:
- Different types of business loans,
- Key terms and explanations,
- Basic lender requirements, and
- Free resources to help prepare for financing.
They also discussed answers to frequently asked questions to ensure first-time borrowers are prepared and confident for their first meeting with a lender.
For more information, visit glm-rfbc.msu.edu or email glm-rfbc@msu.edu.
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), Northwest Indiana Food Council (IN), Food Finance Institute at the University of Wisconsin System (WI), and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Food Systems – 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.
