The past two years have challenged our nation like no other time in our history. From the COVID-19 pandemic, elections, and economic distress to the social, racial, and equity challenges facing many communities, our nation is looking for answers. The CDFA Virtual National Summit will take on these challenges and explore ways development finance can once again rise to the occasion.

As part of the Administration's efforts to address food systems challenges arising from the pandemic as well as those going back decades, USDA announced plans for another $100 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The funding would leverage hundreds of millions more in lending through community and private sector lenders to expand meat and poultry processing capacity and finance other food supply chain infrastructure.

Reinvestment Fund is inviting applications for grant awards and technical assistance through the 2021 round of the America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Targeted Small Grants Program. The 2021 HFFI round is offering at least $4 million in grant funds for food retail and food enterprises working to improve access to healthy foods in underserved areas, create and preserve quality jobs, and revitalize low-income communities.

Steward, a nonbank private lender, has raised $8.8 million in a Series A to expand its work lending to small, sustainably run farms, fisheries, ranches, and food producers. Steward is an online lending platform that allows users to participate in secured, interest-bearing loans that are made to farmers and producers working in regenerative agriculture, which is farming practices, land stewardship, and food systems that are small-scale and sustainable.

USDA announced a comprehensive set of investments to address challenges facing America's agricultural producers. These include assistance to address challenges and costs associated with drought, animal health, market disruptions for agricultural commodities, and school food supply chain issues. Secretary Vilsack also outlined and requested public comments on a new climate partnership initiative designed to create new revenue streams for producers via market opportunities.

The USDA will put a "significant" amount of money into large-scale pilot projects of climate-smart agricultural practices to create new markets for sustainably produced products, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Initiative would provide incentives for the adoption of climate-smart practices on working land and would quantify and monitor the carbon and greenhouse gas benefits resulting from those practices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing a higher loan limit will be available for borrowers seeking a guaranteed farm loan starting Oct. 1, 2021, from $1.776 million to $1.825 million. In addition, FSA will permit a second Disaster Set-Aside for COVID-19 and a second DSA for natural disasters for those who had an initial COVID-19 DSA. Requests for a COVID-19 DSA or a second DSA must be received no later than May 1, 2022.

Officials in Prince George's County have welcomed Good Food Markets, a new grocery store aimed at improving food access and community health by providing fresh healthy food in underserved communities. The new store was funded through grants, a Healthy Food Financing Initiative loan from the Low-Income Investment Fund, and an Economic Development Incentive Fund loan from the PGC-Economic Development Corporation.

Intro Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Finance WebCourse
December 8-9, 2021 - Daily: 12:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern

CDFA Federal Financing Webinar Series: Preserving Local Food Systems with Federal Financing
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern

>>> VIEW THE FOOD SYSTEMS RESOURCE CENTER   
>>> VIEW THE AGRICULTURE RESOURCE CENTER   

Completed in August of 2021, this report offers a snapshot of national trends, and a directory of food systems plans and charters that exist at state and regional levels across the United States (see the directory at the end of this document). It is intended to serve as a resource to facilitate network building and co-learning among practitioners leading these efforts and groups interested in launching their own plans and charters.

This report describes how three CDFIs drive economic growth in low-income and historically marginalized communities through a model defined by the EFOD Collaborative as Equitable Food Oriented Development (EFOD). EFOD is a development approach that supports locally owned food-based economies. The report details systemic financial barriers that business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs face in marginalized communities.

>>> SEARCH FOOD SYSTEMS RESOURCES
>>> SEARCH AGRICULTURE RESOURCES