The North Central USDA Regional Food Business Center is a collaboration of 35 partner organizations, helping to coordinate technical assistance and build capacity for farmers and food businesses in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The Center does this by:  Connecting farmers and businesses together to create new ways of selling and buying food. Expanding the amount of food available and the number of people who want to buy it.  Strengthening the food systems in the Upper Midwest to address supply chain issues and challenges for small businesses. Our goal is to transform a region that primarily focuses on commodity and large-scale agriculture into an area that also supports smaller, more resilient farm and food practices, specifically focusing on the development of critical infrastructure for small and mid-size livestock processing, fruit and vegetable processing, and warehouse space and storage operations. First District can also guide access to funding, including the Business Builder sub-award grants intended to provide food and farm businesses with up to $50,000 in capital needed to launch and expand their business. To learn more about this program, visit northcentralrfbc.org