6 Tips for Farms and Food Businesses Applying for Grants
Nina Gruber, Senior Manager for the Arizona Economic Resource Center
For many farms and food businesses, grants can be key to unlocking growth and building a more resilient food system — just take a look at our recent Business Builder Award recipients!
Are you dreaming about growing your business, but don’t know where to start?
For advice about how to set yourself up for success, we reached out to Nina Gruber, the senior manager for Local First’s Arizona Economic Resource Center, which has helped bring over $140 million to Arizona communities.
The overall message of her guidance? Successful applicants approach the grant process with clarity, intention and a strong understanding of their operations.
If you’re considering applying, here are six practical tips to help you set yourself up for success.
1. Start with a project that solves a real business need.
Before you even begin searching for funding, get clear on what you want to do:
What is the project?
How does it support your business?
Does it build on work you are already doing?
For farms, that might look like:
Expanding irrigation or water efficiency systems
Adding cold storage or processing infrastructure
Investing in season extension (e.g., hoop houses, shade structures)
For food businesses, it could be:
Purchasing equipment to increase production capacity
Adding new dimensions to the business, such as cooking classes or community education
Developing value-added products or packaging
If your project already solves a real bottleneck in your business, your application will be stronger, and the impact will be real. If you’re stretching to create a project just to fit a grant, it will show — and harm your chances at a successful application.
2. Think through your project before applying.
Pro tip:
Save your work! You can reuse the narratives you’ve written.
The strongest applications come from projects that already exist in your vision — that you have fully thought through and that you are genuinely excited about — rather than projects created just to fit a funding opportunity. Spend some time ideating and considering what will be involved in making your vision a reality.
With a clearly defined project, it becomes much easier to tell a compelling story and write a strong proposal.
3. Choose grants that match how your business actually operates.
The best grant opportunities are a natural extension of your work.
Gruber advises taking the time to understand what a grant is really asking for. If it requires you to create entirely new systems or stretch beyond your capacity, it may not be the right opportunity.
Ask yourself:
Does the timeline fit your production cycle or growing season?
Do the reporting requirements match your current record keeping?
Will it require new systems (data tracking, certifications, compliance) that exceed your current operational capacity?
For example, a reimbursement-based grant might not be a good fit for a small farm with tight cash flow. Or, a grant requiring detailed outcome tracking might overwhelm a business that doesn’t already collect that data.
4. Be honest about your capacity (especially during busy seasons).
Running a farm or food business is already a full-time job — and then some.
Grants require:
Time to apply (building detailed budgets, writing narratives, securing letters of support)
Time to manage (tracking expenses, submitting reports, communicating with the funder)
Time to execute the project itself (coordinating vendors, overseeing implementation, keeping the project on schedule)
Think about your calendar:
Are you applying right before harvest season?
Will the project timeline overlap with your busiest months?
Do you have someone on your team who can help manage the grant?
Gruber says she often sees businesses win funding but struggle to fully use it because they don’t have the time to implement it. The goal isn’t just to win the grant; it’s to successfully complete it.
5. Understand the financial structure before you apply.
This is one of the most important (and most overlooked) parts of grant funding.
Make sure you clearly understand:
Reimbursement vs. upfront funding (can you float the cost? Are there bridge loans that you can access?)
Match requirements (do you need to contribute your own money?)
Allowable expenses (what can and can’t be covered?)
For example:
Can you use grant funds for labor, or only equipment?
Are you allowed to pay yourself or your team?
Will you need to track expenses in a specific way?
Also, funders want to see that your project will continue after the grant ends. Be prepared to explain:
How this investment strengthens your long-term business (e.g., reduces operating costs, increases production capacity or opens new revenue streams)
How you will sustain the project without continued funding (e.g., through earned revenue, cost savings or integration into your existing operations)
6. Build partnerships that strengthen your application.
Collaboration is a major advantage in today’s grant funding landscape.
Strong partnerships can:
Make you eligible for grants you couldn’t access alone
Increase your competitiveness
Expand your impact in the community
For farms, this could look like:
Partnering with a food hub, distributor, or other growers
Working with a nonprofit on education or food access
For food businesses, this might involve:
Collaborating with local suppliers or producers
Partnering with community kitchens or training programs
Even informal relationships, such as letters of support from municipalities/counties, nonprofits, for profit businesses, universities or tribal organizations, can make your application more compelling.
Final note: grants are a tool, not a strategy.
Grants can help you grow, but they shouldn’t be the foundation of your business.
The most resilient farms and food businesses:
Have diversified revenue streams
Build strong customer relationships
Invest in systems that support long-term sustainability
The grant landscape is constantly changing, the Arizona Economic Resource Center is evolving alongside it.
Gruber’s message is clear: pursue grants strategically, so that they strengthen your work, not distract from it.
If you’re exploring grant opportunities and aren’t sure where to start, we’re here to help. While we’re not currently offering hands-on grant writing support, our team is always happy to answer questions and assist however we can.
Reach out to us at resilientfood@localfirstaz.com — we’d love to support you as you navigate funding opportunities.