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The basics:

• SBA executive says Grocery Guarantee expands access to capital for food supply chain
• Loan guarantee increased to 90% to encourage lender participation
• Targets lower grocery prices through domestic production growth
• Supports NJ farmers, logistics firms and small businesses

Under President Donald Trump and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler’s leadership, the U.S. Small Business Administration is taking targeted action to strengthen New Jersey’s food supply chain to push costs down for working and middle-class families where it matters most: the grocery store.

The SBA’s new Grocery Guarantee is a simple but powerful tool designed with states like New Jersey in mind – where state property taxes are among the highest in the nation, “layered with newly added fees, surcharges, and stealth taxes that hit working families the hardest,” according to New Jersey 101.5 political director Eric Scott.

To expand food production and supply – with the aim of reducing grocery costs for consumers – the SBA is bringing its international trade loan program to a broad range of producers in the agricultural industry as well as firms handling logistics. This will drive even more investment in our food supply chain and infuse farmers and logistics providers with expanded access to capital to increase production, processing, and distribution. By fueling this domestic capacity, the Trump SBA is doing its part to tackle the record-high prices of the Biden administration while also filling our grocery stores with affordable, nutritious, homegrown food. It also keeps shelves stocked and prices more competitive for working and middle-class families.

Instead of walking away from a good borrower because margins are tight, lenders can now lean in, offering borrowers additional flexibility through an increased SBA guarantee of 90% compared to the standard 75% guarantee for the agency’s popular 7(a) loan program. This also provides lenders with greater confidence to deploy capital into the food supply chain, supporting increased production capacity, processing, and distribution to increase the supply of domestic food products — all which lower grocery prices.

This is how more capital flows into the economy to make a demonstrable difference – lowering prices that reached their high points during the Biden-Harris era, where families from North and Central Jersey to those in the South or on the Shore felt the sticker shock. That’s why the Trump SBA is doing its part to lower costs. This action builds on the president’s broader commitment to support American farmers and producers, like the Garden State’s 9,000 farms spanning vegetable and fruit farming to field corn growers to livestock and poultry. By further reducing barriers to capital and empowering lenders to invest in American agriculture, SBA is ensuring that small businesses remain at the center of our nation’s food security and economic strength.

This initiative also fits squarely within President Trump’s broader economic agenda: rebuilding domestic production, shoring up supply chains, and bringing the cost of living back within reach of working and middle-class families. And New Jersey’s economy is uniquely positioned to benefit; the state sits at the heart of the Northeast Corridor, with deepwater ports, interstate highways, and rail networks that make the Garden State an indispensable logistics hub. When federal policy prioritizes investment in that sector, New Jersey’s farmers, processors, wholesalers, and retailers naturally see costs lowered and prices made more affordable for the region.

Call to action

This is also a call to action for New Jersey’s financial sector. The state’s financial services community – banks, credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions – know their markets and borrowers better than anyone in Washington. With the Grocery Guarantee in place, each of these lenders now has a practical tool to deepen relationships with existing small-business clients and reach promising new ones.

Affordability is a shared responsibility. The federal government is creating the right conditions under this White House and administration; lenders must be willing to extend credit and use these programs, and entrepreneurs must have the vision and drive to invest, hire and grow. If you grow, make, move, or sell food in the Garden State, talk to your lender about how this new SBA guarantee can support your next project. When New Jersey’s small businesses have the capital to expand and innovate, families across our state will feel it where it counts: at a more affordable grocery checkout.

Matt Coleman is the regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration‘s Atlantic Region, overseeing federal lending, economic development, technical assistance, and disaster recovery across New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.