Dear Southeast RFBC Community,
On July 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the termination of the Regional Food Business Centers program. The Southeast RFBC will cease operations effective September 15, 2025.
This decision marks a significant and disappointing transition for our Center and the many farmers, food businesses, partners, and community leaders we’ve had the privilege to support.
The Regional Food Business Centers program was envisioned as a catalytic investment in regional food systems transformation—bolstering food and farm entrepreneurs, strengthening supply chains and market opportunities, and localizing both the production of nutritious food and the dollars spent on it.
While the Southeast RFBC will no longer operate, the work continues. Our partner organizations remain deeply committed to the mission that brought us together. Thanks to the foundation laid by the SE RFBC, our region benefits from a stronger network of collaborators and valuable market research that highlights new opportunities to support regional food systems.
We are committed to providing as much information and support as possible to help you navigate this change.
Why is the RFBC program ending?
The announcement from USDA Sec. Rollins stated that the RFBC program was not aligned with the current administration’s priorities. USDA plans to repurpose the remaining RFBC funds, but no specific programs or resources were named.
What does this mean for the Center and our partners?
We’ve compiled answers to some of the most common questions we’ve received:
Q: Are all 12 RFBCs being terminated?
A: Yes. The Southeast Center, along with three others, will conclude operations by September 15. Eight Centers will continue work for another several months under very limited circumstances to fulfill grant commitments to food and farm businesses that were approved by USDA but stalled because of the federal funding freeze that began in January.
Q: Will the Southeast RFBC still administer Business Builder grants?
A: No. Centers that have not yet made Business Builder commitments, like the Southeast Center, will be terminated September 15 and will not administer Business Builder grants.
Q: Can I still apply for Business Builder grants from another Center if I haven’t yet?
A: No. The application window for Business Builder grants from all Centers has closed as of the termination announcement.
Q: Will the USDA replace the RFBC program?
A: It is unclear. USDA’s statement said the agency is evaluating new initiatives to support regional food systems. Stay tuned to USDA channels to learn as new programs are developed.
Q: What happens to the technical assistance and support we were promised?
A: Unfortunately, the Southeast RFBC is no longer permitted to provide technical assistance or support services effective immediately. We are working over the next 60 days to document relevant data and other information created by the Center and share it with each of our partners so that they can, in turn, make it available to food and farm businesses in their states. We encourage you to continue to connect with the partners in your state. See contact information below.
Q: Are there other federal or state programs we can pivot to for funding?
A: Yes. In the coming weeks, the Center intends to collate capital access resources, including historical and current funding sources, available to food and farm businesses throughout the region.
What’s next?
Although this is not the outcome we hoped for, the organizations that made up the Southeast RFBC remain committed to its mission. We do not anticipate additional information from USDA, but if it comes, we will share it with you. Looking forward, we hope you will continue to engage the Southeast Center’s partner organizations in our collective work to support farm and food businesses and strengthen local and regional food systems.
Connect with Southeast RFBC partners:
Virginia:
- Africulture – Michael J Carter, Jr, learnafriculture@gmail.com
- Virginia State University Small Farmer Outreach Program – William Crutchfield, wcrutchfield@vsu.edu
- Locus – Lauren DeSimone, ldesimone@locusimpact.org
North Carolina:
- Resourceful Communities – Dave Walker, dwalker@conservationfund.org
South Carolina:
- South Carolina Black Farmers Coalition Foundation – Daryl Orage, president@scblackfarmers.com
Georgia & Florida:
- Georgia Minority Outreach Network – John Littles, john@georgiamon.org
Region Wide:
- University of South Carolina Beaufort – Diana Gill, dgill8@sc.edu
- Common Market – Bill Green, bill@thecommonmarket.org
Thank you for being part of the Southeast RFBC community. We are proud of what we’ve accomplished together—and hopeful for what lies ahead.
With appreciation,
Locus & Georgia Minority Outreach Network
Southeast RFBC Co-Leads
Lead Entities
The mission of Georgia Minority Network, Corp (GA MON) is to connect with similar organizations to assist small and mid-sized farm and food businesses, as well as rural and urban landowners in fostering sustainability of their natural resources. GA MON will also assist limited resource, underserved, rural and urban, veteran, ranchers, farmers, producers, and landowners in fostering resilience and sustainability of their natural resources as well as provide education and technical assistance to improve their standard of living by enhancing their land and natural resources.
The parent organization for Locus Bank, Locus Impact Fund, Locus Capital, and the Community Investment Guarantee Pool – creates access to capital by developing community partnerships and innovative tools that tackle challenges and advance promising opportunities. As a community development financial institution, we advance high-impact, community-led projects that support small business growth, housing affordability, clean energy, and regional food ecosystems.
Your message has been sent
