The Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) applauded the City of Chicago for adopting a resolution that will transform the way agencies purchase food and will work by promoting health and well-being to Chicagoans while creating a sustainable, socially responsible food system that has the potential of returning millions of dollars to local, food-based businesses and entrepreneurs.

As the Metro Council prepares to take up Mayor Sharon Weston Broome's proposed $918 million budget for next year, Together Baton Rouge is calling on the mayor to fund an initiative she backed on the campaign trail to increase food access in the parish's many food deserts.

The Springfield, Massachusetts, City Council approved a bond order of $7.5 million for the second phase of an estimated $21 million, state-of-the-art food service building on Cadwell Drive in East Springfield.

Louisville may soon join the list of cities that have a year-round indoor farmer's market. The Logan Street Market, backed by Mike Safai, is tentatively scheduled to open next year in the Shelby Park neighborhood. Financing the project will come from donations, banks, and sponsorships for equipment.

After missing two more deadlines, a developer is poised to meet final city conditions and start a much-anticipated, long-delayed $19.8 million remake of the crumbling, landmark Garver Feed Mill and surrounding property on the East Side. The building will be redeveloped into an artisan food production facility.

The 67,000-square-foot facility in Chicago's East Garfield Park plans to support local food and beverage entrepreneurs by providing them with tools, resources and networking opportunities that will encourage success. The project was made possible by $8 million in city funding plus support through the New Markets Tax Credit. .

The Federal Reserve System and USDA have partnered to develop a book, entitled Harvesting Opportunity, focused on the community and economic development opportunities of investing in regional food systems. In connection with the book's release, the Fed and USDA are co-hosting regional meetings to advance local work on regional food systems strategies.

Augusta's economic development agency recently signed off on a $130 million industrial revenue bond issue to fund Starbucks' plant expansion.

The 12,000 sq. ft. Campbell's Market which opens this month was paid for with $1.5 million in incentives and loans to the Campbell Family, through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. 

VEDA approved 344 financings in FY2017 totaling nearly $199 million. Of the $199 million, VEDA made 135 loans for $26.5 million through the Authority's agricultural lending program, the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation (VACC) in FY 2017 -- outpacing all prior years.

Behind a high-profile obsession with the "Next Big Thing" in venture capital, a number of impact investors are also raising capital for other types of food and agriculture projects that they believe have the potential to fix a broken food system.

The funding is expected to create and retain 120 jobs in Hawaii and help to expand Hawaii's agricultural job market, contribute to the development of a growing, self-sufficient food system throughout the state, and increase access to locally sourced, healthy food.