USDA Terminates Regional Food Business Center Program
On Jul 15, 2025, the USDA announced the termination of the Regional Food Business Center program. Eight of the 12 centers including the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center (GLM-RFBC) will wind down activities by September 15, 2025. The GLM-RFBC is led by Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems in partnership with CFPAC, North West Indiana Food Council, Food Finance Institute, and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. The program was originally planned from July 2023- through June 2028. The other RFBC who were able to launch their Business Builder program will continue through May 2026.
Regional Values Based Collaboration
The center’s collaborative model relied heavily on network coordination from partners who understand their respective landscapes and specific needs of communities in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. This trust based model is essential in overcoming historic distrust of USDA programs and while working to ensure funding would reach those often left behind.
This cancellation means our region loses:
👉🏾Over $6 million in direct Business Builder grants for equipment and infrastructure.
👉🏾Nearly $4 million in technical assistance to support skills like business operations, marketing, and bookkeeping.
👉🏾A values-led program where regional farmers, technical assistance providers and local partner organizations would help decide which projects were funded.
👉🏾Further compounds other recent losses in federal funding, like the end of the Local Food Purchasing Program (LFPA) where smaller farmers had a steady market channel to sell produce and other products.
Our Disappointment with the USDA’s Reasoning
Our frustration regarding the termination cannot be understated. While the USDA has cited a failure to launch the Business Builder subawards as its reason for immediate termination of the 4 Centers, this framing is deeply inaccurate and unfairly places blame on the Centers. The launch was stalled, precisely because of the slowness of USDA’s processes. The delays were due to stalled reviews, inconsistent guidance, and last minute structural changes - mainly shifting from direct grants to a reimbursement based model, a change that created additional barriers for the very small businesses this program was designed to help.
After spending two years collaborating and network building to get desperately needed funding out the door, the USDA has cancelled a unique program designed to provide critical resources to support farmers and food businesses who need it most. This decision clearly contradicts the administration’s “Farmers First” agenda, which promises to provide small farmers with greater access to markets and infrastructure. The program was meant to do just that! “It’s a shame that this was built....we’re not going to get to the part where we actually get the money out the door to people,” - Dr. Jahi Chappell, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems.
Continued collaboration, actions, and available resources
Despite the termination of the program, we remain hopeful because the most valuable parts of the GLM-RFBC, the collaboration, shared values and vision do not change. Furthermore, the need for this kind of support doesn’t change either.
A working group of RFBC leads across the country has been gathering for much of the two year project years to date. This has been external to USDA and coordinated and led by RFBC leads with a focus on long-term sustainability in terms of funding.
On August 5th, 2025, Representatives Alma Adams (D-North Carolina) and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) sent a letter signed by 38 House Democrats to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins opposing the cancellation of the Regional Food Business Centers and urging her to “immediately reverse this decision and reinstate this valuable program.
John McCarthy, the GLM-RFBC Grants Support Specialist, will continue to provide grant support services for small to mid-size farmers and producers through September 15th. For more information or to set up an appointment, contact John at mccar715@msu.edu.
Additional links and press coverage