Six area school districts are currently working through West Central Missouri Community Action Agency to find and purchase local foods. Another 15 are exploring the farm-to-school opportunity with help from West Central’s Farm to School Specialist. State reimbursement up to $1,000 is available.

Sheridan Garman-Neeman begins work this month as Chief Community Wealth Building Officer at New Growth, a rural Missouri community development corporation (CDC) based in the state’s west central region. She will manage the growth and success of New Growth as a rural micro-entrepreneur development and financing organization. This includes New Growth Capital micro-loans to rural businesses and business technical assistance to rural men and women through the 15-county New Growth Women’s Business Center.

The New Growth Women’s Business Center is pleased to offer an opportunity for six rural women entrepreneurs to join a peer-to-peer support group and work one-on-one with women’s leadership coach Dina Readinger.

Locally owned and rooted businesses will feature greatly in the revival of rural Missouri as a place where people and businesses want to be. That’s who the New Growth community development corporation is working to support with rural small business development and flexible micro-financing programs.

The new Demystifying Wholesale video series features farmer-to-farmer advice on producing, packing, and marketing vegetables for local wholesale markets. It is produced by the Food Systems Program at West Central Missouri Community Action Agency as part of its Beginning Farmer Wholesale Project in association with the Growing Growers KC program.

The START HERE Revolving Loan Fund serves people who have the skills and determination to make it, but who lack the credit history and business track record they need to get traditional financing from a bank.

Get your tickets now for the fourth-annual Farm to Fork Summit Feb. 22, 2022, in Osceola, Missouri at the First Assembly of God Church.

Local food markets keep the 131-year-old Pearl Family Farm going. A new video series on wholesale production features Mike Pearl’s sweet potato crop. Produced by the Beginning Farmer Wholesale Project at West Central Missouri Community Action Agency.

In one year the regional START HERE network has helped 14 new businesses start and launched a range of resources to help rural economies and communities grow. Its “5th Monday” luncheon in Warsaw brought partners together to explore this regional collaboration.

This year on Giving Tuesday November 30, 2021, we invite you to support the New Growth Women’s Business Center. The 15-county WBC is one of only five in the nation that focuses on rural entrepreneurs, men and women.

A major regional workforce study and next steps for funding west central Missouri action were the topic recently of the START HERE Business Acceleration Network’s bimonthly community partner meeting. View recording here.

Through this Request for Proposals (“RFP”), West Central Community Development Corporation (dba New Growth) seeks proposals from qualified firms to develop an application for 2022 Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certification. The scope of work for this RFP includes consultant guidance on organizational structure for New Growth to operate rural community development and business assistance programs alongside its certified CDFI.