Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program for Lenders

Qualified lenders may apply for up to $40MM to finance food systems projects. Lenders can provide loans to cooperatives, corporations, tribal communities, and more. 

Overview
Early in December 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is deploying $100 million under the new Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program to make available nearly $1 billion in loan guarantees to back private investment in processing and food supply infrastructure that will strengthen the food supply chain for the American people.

USDA is making the funding available through the American Rescue Plan Act. These efforts are to address food system challenges and will ultimately deliver more opportunities and fairer prices for farmers, give people greater access to healthier foods, and help eliminate bottlenecks in the food supply chain.

Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program Details
Through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program, USDA will partner with lenders to guarantee loans of up to $40 million to help eligible entities expand meat and poultry processing capacity and finance other food supply chain infrastructure. Lenders may provide the loans to eligible cooperatives, corporations, for profits, nonprofits, Tribal communities, public bodies and people in rural and urban areas.

USDA Rural Development (RD) will administer the loans. Funding may be used to:

• start-up or expand food supply chain activities such as aggregating, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling or distributing food.
• address supply chain bottlenecks.
• increase capacity and help create a more resilient, diverse and secure U.S. food supply chain.

How to Apply as a Lender
USDA is accepting electronic applications from lenders through the Food Supply Chain Online Application System until funds are expended. Paper applications will not be accepted.

To access the online application system, lenders must submit a request to rdfoodsupplychainloans@usda.gov.
For more information, lenders should visit www.rd.usda.gov/foodsupplychainloans or see the notice published in the December 9, 2021  Federal Register.

USDA Rural Development encourages applications for projects that advance the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, promote equitable access to USDA programs and services, and reduce the impacts of climate change on rural communities. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points.

Additional Information
This funding announcement follows the Biden-Harris Administration’s September announcement about the steps it is taking to address concentration in the meat-processing industry. It adds a new commitment of $100 million for guaranteed loans on top of the previously announced $500 million investment to expand meat and poultry processing capacity.

A full presentation is available to view on the NCBA CLUSA YouTube channel.
You may view the PPT presentation from the webinar by clicking here. 

The Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program is administered by the USDA RBCS National Office. Contact Jeff Hudson at rdfoodsupplychainloans@usda.gov with any questions.