USDA Announces Framework for Shoring Up the Food Supply Chain
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced details of a framework to transform the food system to benefit consumers, producers, and rural communities by providing more options, increasing access, and creating new, more, and better markets for small and mid-size producers. The package includes new aid to support food supply chain infrastructure outside meat processing, regional food business centers, a new organic transition initiative, and urban agriculture.
Dive Into Development Finance with CDFA's Virtual Summer School!
CDFA Virtual Summer School is a week-long series of courses presented by the CDFA Training Institute. CDFA Virtual Summer School will offer three different training courses, all held online. Learn from our expert practitioners and experience CDFA's most interactive educational event of the year. These courses also qualify for the CDFA Training Institute's Development Finance Certified Professional Program!
ReFED and Closed Loop Partners Announce Funding Platform to Scale Food Waste Solutions
ReFED and Closed Loop Partners launch a new $100M Circular Food Solutions Funding Platform, a blended finance investment and innovation platform to scale food waste reduction solutions by mobilizing critical capital into the sector. The platform is designed to provide private and philanthropic financing and other support for organizations, municipalities, and innovators that are developing solutions to help reduce the 35% of food that goes unsold or uneaten each year in the United States.
Check Out CDFA's New Report Debunking Risk in Food System Lending
Food and agriculture-related businesses are often perceived as too risky for traditional lending approaches, yet CDFA research tells a different story. This report, with loan-level data from over a thousand funds nationwide, demonstrates that food system loans perform and that revolving loan funds can successfully support local food system borrowers in their communities.
Pennsylvania Governor Highlights Investment in Innovative Solution to Feeding the Future
Bowery Farming, the largest vertical farming company in the U.S., received funding for a new farm in Bethlehem, PA. With support from the Department of Community and Economic Development for a $210,000 Pennsylvania First grant and a $250,000 Enterprise Zone Tax Credit through the Neighborhood Assistance Program, Bowery has constructed a 150,000 square-foot facility on 8.7 acres that will create and retain at least 70 new, full-time jobs over the next three years.
House Agriculture Committee Passes Butcher Block Act
The U.S. House Agriculture Committee unanimously passed a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) that would make improvements to the pricing of cattle in America. The Butcher Block Act, H.R. 4140 would establish a loan program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development for new and expanding meat processors.
Groundbreaking Held for New Tribal Foods Distribution Building
A groundbreaking was held for a nearly 8,000 square foot addition to the Tribal Foods Distribution Program of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). The project was funded through a $5.3 million USDA grant, $4 million in ARP (American Rescue Plan) funds, and $1 million from the capital fund of the EBCI.
Orchard Farming in Opportunity Zones
Farmland can be a compelling asset class for Opportunity Zone investors, as a hedge against inflation and a profitable source of income. But what about orchard farming and other, more specialized agricultural operations? This podcast from OpportunityDb features Josh Guggenheim, the Director of Acquisition at Gold Leaf Farming, a company focused on sustainable farm sourcing and expansion efforts in California and Arizona.
Local Food Hubs: The Next Revolution in Urban Planning
It's time for local food production to be a staple of urban planning and for businesses to get involved. Investing in accessible and sustainable options like food hubs could normalize local food production and inevitably create a flywheel of funding that would trickle down to more and more growers.
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