USDA Regional Food Business Centers
Empowering Native Food Businesses Across The Northwest & Rocky Mountain Regions
In a five-year partnership, Tahoma Peak Solutions collaborates with Oregon State University to co-lead a $30 million U.S. Department of Agriculture regional food business center in support of farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses’ access to new markets and their navigation of federal, state, and local resources. The Northwest & Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center is one of twelve new USDA centers that are part of a $400 million initiative serving small and mid-sized farm and food businesses within local and regional food systems, with a focus on historically underinvested and underserved communities in the region.
Tahoma Peak Solutions serves as a Regional Partner to the Northwest & Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center. As a Regional Partner, Tahoma Peak Solutions provides coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building to uplift and center Native American producers, organizations, and supply chain businesses—both independent from or part of Tribal initiatives. Tahoma Peak Solutions leads outreach to Native-led and Tribal-led initiatives from the six states to support the growth of Native businesses and Tribal communities.
As Regional Partner to the Northwest & Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center, Tahoma Peak Solutions leverages its unique specialization in uniting communities through shared goals. While this will take many forms across the five-year partnership, Tahoma Peak Solutions has recently expanded Feed Seven Generations’ Native Growth & Gathered project to include Oregon, Idaho, and the Rocky Mountain Region. This dynamic collaboration will interview Tribal food producers across the six states to identify their unique needs and opportunities for training, technical assistance, funding, and more. In addition to connecting Tribes with resources and funders, Native Grown & Gathered’s assessments will collect data to create an online resource hub for entrepreneurs in the realm of food and foreign business, supporting and bridging connections with communities in Indian Country.
