Funding for Food Businesses

The Market Entry Fund – Micro Grants Program, administered by Renewing the Countryside in association with The Market Entry Fund (TMEF), supports food/beverage/agriculture businesses in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry. The objective of the TMEF Micro-Grants Program is to bolster the financial capability of emerging businesses that are owned by underrepresented entrepreneurs in Minnesota who demonstrate systemic barriers to equitable participation in this sector.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this program, applicants must:

• Be based in Minnesota;
• Make CPG product(s) or be actively working towards making CPG product(s);
• Sell business to business (B2B) or be actively working towards selling to other businesses for resale. In other words, applicants must be licensed or actively working towards a Wholesale Food Processor/Manufacturer License; and
• Be an emerging or small-scale business (earning less than $1 million in annual gross revenue).

RTC welcomes applications from all eligible businesses. However, as stated above, preference will be given to those who best align with the objective of the TMEF Micro-Grants Program.

Given limited funds, we ask that previous grant recipients wait two years before reapplying to the TMEF Micro-Grants Program. This means that any grant recipient from 2024 and 2025 is ineligible to apply in 2026.

Use of Funds

In 2026, an estimated 15-20 businesses will be selected to receive micro-grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 per grant. Each recipient’s grant amount will be based on the size of the business, as demonstrated by annual gross revenue.

Applicants can propose how they would like to use the funds, and uses for the micro-grants are flexible. However, the most competitive applicants are those that are able to describe how the funds will help to:

• Alleviate or “untangle” the business from a specific challenge or systemic barrier, and
• Propel the business forward to the next level of development - whatever that level may mean for the business - but must be well defined and described in the proposal.

Grants may not be used to cover ongoing (fixed) costs, including but not limited to rent, mortgage, staffing, or general supplies and inventory.

Once an application has been selected for a grant, funds must be used for the purpose(s) outlined in that proposal. Applicants are highly encouraged to assess and know their business needs and opportunities well before applying.

Key Dates for the 2026 Cycle

Application Materials

*View the recording of the Information Session

*Download the Application Guide

*Review FAQs

*Still have questions? Sign up for an individual office hour on Wed. 5/20 or Thu. 6/18

*Applications are open! Submit your application here