Updates on Local Food Producer Workshops

Quinlan C., Food Business Resource Navigator

Access to locally grown and produced food is an essential part of a secure food system. The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated just how fragile the global food system can become with supply chain disruptions; as a result, the demand for local foods has been on the rise in the years that have followed.

The 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture reported that local farms across the country generated more than $3.26 billion in direct-to-consumer food sales— selling food at local farmers markets, on-farm stands or even directly to neighbors — which was a 16% increase from the census taken five years earlier.

In Kansas, where local food sales have increased by as much as 185% between 2017 and 2022, the K-State Research and Extension Local Foods Team is responding in kind: we have partnered with the Kansas Department of Agriculture to produce a series of Local Producers Workshops spanning January-March 2025.

These workshops offer resources to support food and farm entrepreneurs in navigating the process of taking a product to market, complying with food safety regulations, reaching new markets for their products, and more.

More information and registration for the workshops is available at https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/kansaslocalfoods/get-involved/workshops.html.

The Heartland Regional Food Business Center has had a member of our team present at each of these workshops to present about the types of technical assistance and capacity-building work we do with food and farm entrepreneurs across Kansas. One of the biggest ways the HRFBC helps local producers build capacity is through our Business Builder Subaward Program, funded by the USDA.

The Business Builder Subaward grant helps food and farm businesses grow by supporting those that produce, buy from, and serve local and regional markets. These grants provide funding to help businesses get started or expand while building long-term financial stability.

Ahead of the second round of Business Builder Subaward grants opening for applications – which the HRFBC anticipates will happen in early spring – we have been keen to share information with entrepreneurs about how to apply for those funds. You can learn more by contacting us at the Heartland Center! We provide personalized technical assistance on a business-by-business basis.

More information about the Heartland Center is available at https://heartlandfoodbusiness.org/ – or feel free to reach out to me directly at qcarttar@ksu.edu.