Heartland Regional Foods Business Center

Jordan Rasmussen - Extension Educator - Rural Prosperity Nebraska Author

06/20/2023 Added

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The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has received a $25 million cooperative agreement award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the creation of the Heartland Regional Foods Business Center. This award is among the largest ever received by the university.

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[00:00:04.316]The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has received a $25 million
[00:00:07.536]cooperative agreement award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the
[00:00:11.388]creation of the Heartland Regional Foods Business Center.
[00:00:14.060]This award is among the largest ever received by the university.
[00:00:18.525]The Heartland Regional Foods Business Center is among 12 such national centers
[00:00:22.694]the USDA will establish to serve all areas of the country.
[00:00:26.694]The Heartland center will serve Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa.
[00:00:32.914]Rural Prosperity Nebraska, a UNL Extension hub that
[00:00:36.124]helps connect Nebraska communities with university faculty, students and
[00:00:39.547]other resources, is leading the project in cooperation with 33 partners.
[00:00:44.010]The project is not to create a physical brick-and-mortar “center,”
[00:00:47.200]but rather an online platform to connect and strengthen locally grown food systems.
[00:00:52.473]“USDA is excited to be partnering with Rural Prosperity Nebraska on
[00:00:56.234]this innovative and unprecedented initiative,” said Jenny Lester Moffitt,
[00:01:00.284]USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs.
[00:01:04.552]“By leveraging the expertise now available through these Regional Food Centers,
[00:01:09.245]USDA can offer unique support for local food systems development across the country.”
[00:01:15.471]Mary Emery, executive director of Rural Prosperity Nebraska,
[00:01:19.661]said the award would help paint a clear picture for the farmers,
[00:01:22.411]distributors and other major players in the region’s local food system.
[00:01:26.671]“You have all these different entities working with local foods -
[00:01:29.900]producers, grocery stores, local distributors, nonprofits,
[00:01:32.878]business developers, meat processing plants, extension
[00:01:35.498]offices, the Nebraska Regional Food Systems Initiative
[00:01:38.688]- and these are all puzzle pieces,” she said.
[00:01:41.162]“But we’ve never put the pieces together.
[00:01:43.382]What we want to do with this project to put the puzzle together and
[00:01:47.502]see the picture of how regional food systems work.”
[00:01:50.968]As the regional food system comes into focus, Emery and other leaders
[00:01:54.492]can work to do a better job of connecting people to fresh, locally produced foods.
[00:01:59.202]The inspiration for the proposal came from recognizing how under-served populations
[00:02:03.943]in rural communities often struggle to easily access local and healthy foods.
[00:02:09.691]This issue was exacerbated during the COVID pandemic, when long supply-chain
[00:02:14.711]lines became disrupted, leaving many communities without fresh foods.
[00:02:18.755]This project emphasizes the necessity to rethink local and
[00:02:22.755]regional food supply chains and how to strengthen them.
[00:02:27.594]Regional food health is a key focus area of Rural Prosperity Nebraska
[00:02:31.680]and an integral component of rural community vitality.
[00:02:35.430]“It’s like two sides of a coin,” Emery said.
[00:02:37.700]“How do we get people to eat healthier if they can never access fresh, healthy food?
[00:02:42.040]And how do we get people more interested in producing fresh,
[00:02:45.160]healthy food that they can take to market?
[00:02:47.300]The farmers, the farmers markets, the cooperative grocery stores,
[00:02:51.300]the small rural grocery stores, the Double Up Food Bucks program
[00:02:54.900]- we want to bring all of them into the network.”
[00:02:58.280]“We want to get the message out to producers who are producing fresh
[00:03:01.470]foods for local markets that there are resources out there for you,
[00:03:04.680]and we’re going to make it easier for you to find them,” Emery said.
[00:03:08.140]“To food consumers, we want to say
[00:03:09.868]we’re going to help you find more and better local, healthy foods.”
[00:03:14.070]For Rural Prosperity Nebraska, I'm Jordan Rasmussen.

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Heartland Regional Foods Business Center

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