CDFA just released the sixth and final publication of the CDFA Food Finance White Paper Series, Advancing Local Food Systems Through Development Finance! Research on food systems finance and leadership with pilot projects has positioned CDFA to identify three key strategies for a comprehensive approach for restoring America's local food systems. Every organization, community, economic development agency, and small business working in the food sector should adopt the Reframe, Build, Plan approach to expand financing and drive capital into the local food system.

The Council of Development Finance Agencies is honored to announce a collaboration with The Ohio State University's Initiative for Food and AgriCultural Transformation (InFACT) that will provide economic development finance planning services to facilitate new food systems throughout the State of Ohio. This approach will focus on using development finance tools – such as tax-exempt bonds, tax credits, and revolving loan funds – to meet infrastructure, agriculture, and small business needs in support of regional food system innovation.

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the inequities and fragility of our industrialized food system and accelerated the movement to create strong regional food systems that support local growers, provide food security, give communities agency over their food supply and yield environmental benefits. These systems will remain out of reach, though, unless we address persistent, decades-old structural issues.

After months, Congress has again decided to negotiate a new federal economic relief package. House Democrats introduced their proposal, a new version of the HEROES Act. The $2.2 trillion proposal would provide another round of stimulus checks and increased unemployment benefits. In a new move, it would also incorporate $120 billion in grants for restaurants, bars, and food trucks.

A new investment fund, rePlant Capital, has been formed to help clove the crisis with capitalism by tying interest rates for farm loans to improvements in soil's carbon and water storage as a way to save farmers from the disastrous impacts of climate change. The fund will deploy $250 million to farmers transitioning to regenerative or organic practices, with about $200 million of that going towards loans based on soil health metrics.

The Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI) was funded at $10M through the federal CARES Act and opened in July to for-profit, nonprofit, or cooperative entities including grocery stores, corner stores, convenience stores, neighborhood markets, bodegas, food hubs, mobile markets, farmers markets, on-farm markets, urban farms, and food aggregation centers with a direct connection to direct-to-consumer retail outlets.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) announced Coronavirus Agricultural and Forestry Business (CAFB) Fund awards to farm and forestry businesses. TDA established the CAFB Fund with CARES Act resources to help ensure stability of the food supply chain and agribusiness economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new facility just outside Manassas in Prince William County is expected to extend the life of the county's landfill for 15 years and more than double the county's yearly composting capability for food and yard waste. The new facility, which more than doubles the capacity of the already-running Freestate Farms composting site, is a public-private partnership built by the company on county land but financed by Freestate Farms.

CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Manufacturing Bonds for Disaster Response
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 - 1:00 PM Eastern

Reframe, Build, Plan: Restoring America's Local Food Systems
Thursday, October 29, 2020 - 1:00 PM Eastern

Intro Food Systems Finance WebCourse
December 9-10, 2020 - 12:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern

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More than 30 USDA grant and loan programs provide support and assistance for local and urban food producers and producer groups. These grant and loan programs may be grouped into several broad program categories, including marketing and promotion; business assistance and agricultural research; rural and community development; urban and indoor production; nutrition and education; and farmland conservation.

Traditional sources of capital ranging from philanthropy to private equity to banking institutions have demonstrated a strong interest in investing in a more diversified, resilient food system. To better understand and capture the capital needs of current operators in the regenerative value chain during the COVID-19 pandemic, Croatan Institute and Thread Fund conducted original research focused on the livestock and grain sectors in the spring and early summer of 2020.

Though challenges exist, there are unprecedented opportunities for U.S. agriculture to collaborate and build on its existing strengths to deliver business value for the sector as a whole while contributing to the sustainable development goals and the improved well-being of people and the planet.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is committed to supporting robust regional food economies across the food chain. This graphic is designed to be a guide for which programs are best suited for different parts of the supply chain.

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