Rural Gateway Peer-to-Peer Conference Call: Harvesting Opportunity
The Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development (ORHED) invites you to take part in a Peer-to-Peer conference call on October 11, 2017. This call will offer participants the opportunity to learn more about community and economic development opportunities of regional food system investments.
Food System 6 Hosting Innovation, Investment and Impact Forum in CA
This forum, led by Food System 6, will showcase entrepreneurs and exploring forces which are driving sustainable food system change. The forum will be held on November 10 in Suasalito, CA, and will feature food systems leaders such as Jonathan Foley from the California Academy of Sciences and David Montgomery from the University of Washington.
GAIN Loan Supports Cider Maker Expansion
GAIN is part of a $3 million revolving loan fund with below-market interest rates to assist the agriculture industry in the nine-county Finger Lakes region. The county said the GAIN revolving loan fund was established to support agricultural and related business projects, including food processing and operating farms that result in job creation and job retention as well as farm diversification.
Tax Abatement Reinvestment Zone Used to Finance McLane Classic Foods Relocation
McLane Classic Foods recently announced it will be relocating from Fort Worth, Texas, to Burleson. This move is made possible due to a Tax Abatement Reinvestment Zone which the City of Burleston recently approved.
ME Supporting Small Food Businesses with "Food Freedom" Bill
Maine passed a bill in June 2017 that allows municipalities to decide on and enforce their own food regulations. The passage of this bill is big; it is the first one of its kind in the country and puts government support behind small businesses and farms, thus boosting the rural economy.
Threats to Conservation Easement Funding Put Farmland at Risk
Beginning with the 2018 fiscal year, funding for ACEP will drop precipitously from $500 million per year to $250 million per year. Even at current funding levels NRCS can fund less than half of the easement applications that it receives. At $250 million, it is expected that NRCS will have to turn away between 75 and 90 percent of applicants. A top priority for ACEP in the next farm bill must be returning program funding to at least $500 million per year.
USDA Announces $21M for Projects that Connect Families to Healthy Food
A $21 million infusion of funds through the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives (FINI) Program will help families in need of nutrition assistance to receive the services and outreach they need.
Michigan Good Food Fund Provides Food Access in Underserved Areas
The Michigan Good Food Fund is a $30 million public-private loan fund that finances good food businesses that increase access to affordable, healthy food in Michigan's underserved communities. Investments by the Michigan Good Food Fund in neighborhood stores helps them to be relevant and competitive while offering healthy, whole, reasonably priced and locally sourced foods.
Worchester, MA, OK's TIF for Food Marketplace
The Worcester City Council has granted Harding Green LLC a 10-year tax relief plan that will allow the developers to complete a mixed-use complex on Kelley Square. The tax break will come in the form of a tax-increment financing plan and the square will be used to host 30-40 food vendors.
EDA Board Action Encourages Growth in Advanced Food Manufacturing
Projects approved today by the Board of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) will add to momentum already underway in the State's advanced manufacturing sector. Grow New Jersey (Grow NJ) tax credits will encourage two food manufacturers to locate in New Jersey, where combined, they would create more than 150 new jobs and drive more than $15.4 million in private investment.
Greens on a Brownfield: Grocery Cooperative Coming to a Food Desert in Providence, RI
Urban Greens, which began as a co-operative buying club, incorporated in 2007, has been working to develop a strategy to open a full-fledged grocery store on the West Side since 2010. The new store, which will serve what many would call a food desert — there are no large-scale grocery stores that serve the West Side — is expected to open next fall and is being built on a remediated brownfield.
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