September 5, 2025
In the first half of 2025, the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center continued to strengthen regional food systems through technical assistance, business support, and partnership building:

• 1,513 individuals received direct technical assistance
• $2 million distributed through 118 Business Builder subawards
• 2,121 new partnerships and collaborations formed
• 212 partnerships reported increased sales of regional food products
• 701 partnerships reported more efficient and coordinated use of resources
• 217 partnerships secured additional funding

The graphic below shows the number of individuals trained by topic through Center programming:
With Center operations concluding this month, we celebrate the momentum gained, connections built, and investments made in 2025. The seeds planted through this work will only continue to grow across our region!

July 26, 2025
Unfortunately, CSU received a modification letter from the USDA terminating the Northwest Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center award, with the exception of the Business Builder component of the award. The university is working directly with the impacted staff and subcontractors to determine next steps.

July 8, 2025

With support from the Northwest & Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center, Papa Tony’s is scaling with purpose.

July 2, 2025

The Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center is proud to support Ellie Costello of Trust Land Farm in Missoula, as she is advancing her dream of launching shelf-stable soups.

Through Business Builder-funded support, Costello is refining her soup recipes at Montana State University’s Food Product Development Lab and recently secured an $89,000 grant to invest in commercial kitchen equipment. Her business, Black Bear Soups and Produce, aims to bring Montana-grown, value-added products to market year-round while strengthening statewide food networks.

“Those types of resources would be really out of reach and it would take me a lot longer as a small business owner to be able to develop the product for the market,” Costello said. “But because of this I’m able to fast-track and it seems crazy to say fast-track because I’ve been really slowly working on this for about a decade.”

June 5, 2025

Across the Northwest and Rocky Mountain region, local food entrepreneurs are breathing new life into rural economies, one seed, one steer, and one story at a time. Now, thanks to our new Story Maps, you can explore these inspiring journeys up close.

Our Story Maps highlight businesses that have partnered with the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center—entrepreneurs who are not just building successful enterprises, but reshaping how food is grown, sourced, and shared in their communities.

These place-based impact stories feature a wide array of innovative food businesses, including:

• Roaring Fork Mill – Milling regenerative, heritage grains in the heart of Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley
• Taste of the Wind – A Wyoming-based family ranch raising Icelandic sheep with deep respect for the land and animals
• Ojaswe – Infusing cultural heritage into seasonal, locally sourced menus
• North of Nowhere Farm – Demonstrating what’s possible with organic practices and community-centered values
• Old Town Farmstand – A vibrant farmstand turning small-town support into big-picture impact
• Podunk’s Ranch – A beef operation rooted in family tradition and sustainable stewardship
• Heirloom and Native – Reviving ancient grain varietals for a healthier, more resilient food future

Each story reveals the power of local sourcing, circular economies, organic practices, and cultural connection—core values that align with our mission to expand market access, increase regional food resilience, and uplift our region’s producers.

These businesses aren’t just feeding their communities—they’re modeling a new kind of food system: community-based, place-rooted, and future-facing.

June 5, 2025

The Food Corridor hosted Shared Kitchen 101 Workshops across our region in Bozeman, MT, Lapwai, ID, and Ignacio, CO, with virtual stops in Colorado and Washington, serving nearly 100 shared kitchen operators and local food system leaders.

These workshops are designed to educate and empower new shared kitchen operators, helping them build sustainable businesses, make meaningful connections, and strengthen the broader food ecosystem. Each workshop whipped up a custom agenda, sprinkled in local health inspectors and expert guest speakers, and served up all the essentials to help operators learn, thrive, and connect. Participants represented shared kitchens that host food businesses of many different product types, business sizes and scales, and target markets.

Supported by the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center, these workshops were delivered in partnership with local organizations committed to strengthening their regional food systems.

May 29, 2025

A Colorado State University-led regional food business center funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected 116 small and medium-size farm and food business projects in Colorado, the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest to fund with nearly $2 million in grants.

The projects are being funded through what’s known as the Business Builder Grant Program, which is supported by the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center.

Launched in 2023, the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Center — which covers Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming — is one of 12 regional food centers created by the USDA to support regional collaboration and funding opportunities for food and farm businesses. The Northwest and Rocky Mountain Center is led by CSU in partnership with Oregon State University and has the goal of expanding market access and fortifying local and regional food supply chains.

As of May, the center has awarded nearly $2 million to 116 projects. This includes 38 grants to Colorado businesses, totaling $440,000. The center will eventually distribute a total of $6.75 million in Business Builder Grant Funding.

“One of the most exciting opportunities the center allows us is the chance to invest in innovative farms and food companies,” said Dawn Thilmany, director of the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center and a CSU professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. “We have spent years providing education and technical assistance hoping it set managers up for success, but now we can finance and seed their clever strategies and plans they created in our programs.”

In Colorado, grants were awarded to projects in the Denver Metro area as well as several spread across rural Colorado. For example, the Ray Family Farm in Yuma County is investing in a frozen meat vending machine to provide easier access to locally sourced pork; a dairy in Montrose County will expand production, offering additional fresh, pasture-raised milk to meet demand in underserved communities; and the Pueblo Seed and Food Company aims to expand distribution of drought-hardy organic grains and legumes, preserving water-efficient crop varieties, through branded packaging and expanding milling capacity.

Grants were also awarded to projects in the five other states.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to witness so many Colorado agricultural producers and food businesses benefiting from the Business Builder Grant Program,” said Brian Coppom, agricultural loan program manager with Colorado Department of Agriculture and the state of Colorado co-lead for the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Food Business Center. “These awards represent a meaningful investment in business resilience and expanded market opportunities for agricultural operations across the state.”

Coppom added, “We’re also deeply grateful to Colorado State University and Oregon State University for their leadership in bringing this innovative program to life. The Business Builder grants are laying the groundwork for a stronger, more resilient future for Colorado agriculture.”

April 2025

The Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center Announces Grantees for Colorado and Idaho Business Builder Grant Programs Grants are designed to elevate the marketing and business initiatives of small- and mid-sized farms, ranches, and food businesses, while strengthening local and regional food supply chains. Grantees have been chosen for two Business Builder Grant Programs funded by the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center, signaling a successful round of specialized funding opportunities for small- and mid-sized farms, ranches, and food businesses in Colorado and Idaho.

The Colorado Business Builder Small Grants Program supported small- to mid-sized food and farm businesses that produce in, source from, and serve local and regional markets. Grant funds are designed to enhance business skills, strengthen viability, expand market access, and ultimately fortify local and regional food supply chains. The Center received 167 applications requesting a total of $1,460,000 and awarded $300,962 in funding to 32 Colorado food and farm businesses.

“The Colorado State Team is incredibly excited to see funding from the Center supporting 32 food and farm businesses across our state—from Montezuma County in the southwest to Routt County in the mountains and Yuma County on the eastern plains. These businesses represent the full spectrum of Colorado’s vibrant food economy, including ranches, produce farms, value-added processors, aggregators, and food hubs,” said Libby Christensen, Colorado State Team lead for the Center.

March 20, 2025

This eight-part course equips you with tested strategies to craft a competitive grant application. We’ll demystify federal grant jargon, ensure you’re prepped for success, and guide you through the SAM.gov registration. From crafting workable budgets and work plans to a stress-free submission, we’ll walk you through every step. Familiarize yourself and your team with the art of grant writing and secure the USDA funding you need to grow your business.

March 8, 2025

The Colorado Grain Chain and the Northwest & Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center partnered to produce the inaugural Colorado Grain Summit in Salida Colorado.

This one-day gathering of over 160 attendees featured farmers, millers, bakers, brewers, maltsters, distillers, and buyers interested in expanding local and regional markets for grain and grain products. The Summit included panel discussions about building partnerships along the grain supply chain, enhancing direct and intermediated marketing, and creating new business grain-based relationships in Colorado and beyond.

A special feature of the Summit was a focus on The Rye Resurgence Project which promotes the production and consumption of rye – a heritage grain and winter cover crop that uses less water, improves soil health, and has a complex flavor profile for a variety of uses. Summit participants were able to taste-test four rye varieties grown at different locations in Colorado, and even take home some rye flour!

February 20, 2025

The Shared Kitchen Toolkit is the ultimate resource for shared kitchen operators, providing best practices, expert insights, and practical tools to help kitchens thrive. Originally launched in 2017, this newly updated 2nd Edition reflects the latest industry trends, challenges, and solutions, making it the most comprehensive guide available for launching, managing, and growing a shared kitchen.

Brought to you by: The Food Corridor & Fruition Planning & Management, with funding support from the USDA Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center.

February 10, 2025

The Connecting and Scaling Food Entrepreneurs theme team made a powerful impact at this year’s Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas, Nevada! We proudly sponsored 10 food entrepreneurs in the Incubator Village and 4 in the Startup Pavilion, giving them a platform to showcase their innovative products to buyers, distributors, and industry leaders.

We also took over programming for the new Spark Showcase, featuring dynamic cohort pitches and an insightful RFBC panel on strengthening regional food systems. Beyond the show floor, we fostered meaningful connections with fellow Regional Food Business Centers, including Rio Grande Colonias and Appalachia, furthering our mission to support and uplift food entrepreneurs across the country.

Applications are now open to join our cohort for the 2025 Summer Fancy Food Show in NYC.

January 27, 2025

This Consumer Food Insight (CFI) is part of a series of short reports centered on specific geographic regions. These regions align with the USDA’s new Regional Food Business Centers (RFBCs) which were created to coordinate and support local and regional food supply chains and market activities within specific regions. The intent of these CFIs is to provide a snapshot of regional consumer trends at a moment when post-COVID patterns of market engagement are evolving.

January 23, 2025

FORT COLLINS, CO – Requests for applications (RFAs) have officially launched for three new Business Builder grant programs, funded by the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center. In the Northwest and Rocky Mountain region, these grants are designed to empower small- and mid-sized farm and food businesses, helping them scale, enter new markets, and expand their impact. The program also extends to essential partners—aggregators, processors, distributors, and more—who play a critical role in bringing local food to market.

“The Center is in the midst of lots of exciting initiatives, including active Business Builder grant programs, customized to address key issues identified by our state and theme advisory boards,” said Dawn Thilmany, director of the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center. “We are excited to hear about, read applications from and consider how the Center can help a number of enterprises envision new ideas for their local and regional marketplaces in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado.”

December 18, 2024

Over the past 6–9 months, the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center has been working alongside incredible partners and stakeholders like you to support the success of our region’s food systems.

Your feedback is invaluable in shaping our programs, aligning our efforts with the region’s needs, and ensuring we continue to deliver impactful support to our communities. This survey is for anyone who has engaged with any of our services – newsletters, one-on-one support from a Center Partner, technical assistance programs, events sponsored by the Center, etc.

Please take 3 minutes to complete a brief survey. As part of our commitment to the region, your input is invaluable in aligning our priorities with the evolving needs of our partners. Thank you in advance for your time and thoughtful responses—we’re eager to learn from you!