Business Builder Grants

In August 2025, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Rural Prosperity Nebraska distributed more than $3.7 million to small-to-mid-sized food and farm entrepreneurs across the Midwest as part of the Business Builder Grants program.

The Business Builder Grants aim to drive business growth, job creation and increase the availability of local products across Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas. In addition, they make the region a place where locally produced food is a major contributor to a resilient and safe food supply through regional networks that make local food an easy, everyday choice, supporting healthy people, community economies and sustainable ecosystems.

Through the Nebraska Regional Food Systems Initiative, Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension educators have been working with farmers, farmers markets, local grocery stores to make local foods more accessible and affordable for all Nebraskans.

Here are their stories.

And More Coming Soon!