LOGAN – Utah State University Extension and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) announce a $600,000 in Business Builder Award grants that will be available through the Southwest Regional Food Business Center. The UDAF is accepting applications from now through February 14, 2025.
The purpose of the Business Builder Award grants is to help strengthen the resilience, diversity, and competitiveness of local and regional food systems.
“The Business Builder Award grants are a great opportunity for Utah’s food business entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and we are excited to help facilitate these grants,” said Craig Buttars, UDAF Commissioner.
The purpose of the Business Builder Award grants is to help strengthen the resilience, diversity, and competitiveness of local and regional food systems by expanding opportunities for food businesses throughout Utah. This program will award $600,000 in competitive awards and $80,000 in technical-assistance-linked direct support awards between 2025-2027.
“We’re excited to partner with the Southwest Regional Food Business Center to provide this funding opportunity and hope it allows Utah food and farm businesses to experience real growth,” said Dr. Karin Allen, Extension Food Quality and Entrepreneurship Specialist at Utah State University.
The areas of focus were identified to meet the needs of Utah’s food supply chain through these grants. The following criteria will be given priority:
• Projects related to the production of value-added agricultural products, especially those that diversify current business practices. This includes, but is not limited to, expanding agritourism opportunities, new or expanded processing capacities (e.g. bottling of fruits and acidified foods), and meat processing (e.g. frozen meats and jerky).
• Projects increasing the availability of storage, especially cold storage facilities, for fresh produce and refrigerated processed foods.
• Projects that are located in or directly benefit: Zip codes that are located in a distressed or at-risk community, as defined by the EIG Distressed Communities Index or categorized as Socially Vulnerable, as defined by the USDA Social Vulnerability Index.
For more information contact Kaylan Burns at foodbiz@usu.edu. To access the online application, visit swfoodbiz.org/business-builder-ut.