Nourish Up — the nonprofit formed in 2021 by the merger of long-standing Charlotte food charities — has opened a new 90,000-square-foot warehouse facility in northwest Charlotte called the "Hunger Hub," aiming to dramatically expand its ability to fight food insecurity in Mecklenburg County. To fund the project, Nourish Up launched a $22.8 million capital campaign. The campaign was greatly bolstered by financial support from TD Community Development Corporation (TDCDC) via its Thriving Communities Fund and an $8 million equity allocation using New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC). In addition, a major philanthropic gift — the largest in Nourish Up's history — came from The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation, which contributed $3 million toward the facility. With the Hunger Hub now operational, Nourish Up plans to serve roughly 200,000 people annually, provide medically tailored meals for homebound clients, and scale up its pantry, cold–storage, and meal-delivery operations to respond to rising hunger needs in the region.

Presented in partnership with Grow America, the Intro Opportunity Zones Finance Course will bring together program designers, fund managers, community leaders, investors, and policy experts to share strategies for attracting zone investments and maximizing Opportunity Zones 2.0. The course will also cover key legislative updates, including enhanced bonus depreciation provisions, new zone designations with an emphasis on rural areas, and other critical policy developments. Register today!

According to a recent piece in the Observer Research Foundation, digital financial innovations are transforming the way small farmers and agrifood actors access capital, manage risk, and connect to markets — offering a pathway toward more inclusive and sustainable food systems. By allowing microloans, digital payments, crop insurance, and other fintech-enabled services, these tools reduce reliance on informal or predatory financing and can support climate-friendly farming practices. That said, the article cautions that fintech alone isn't a silver bullet: digital infrastructure, regulatory support, and outreach to historically marginalized or rural populations will be essential to ensure broad access and avoid deepening inequities. For development finance practitioners — like those working on rural agriculture, food system finance, or community lending — fintech presents a compelling complement to traditional grants, subsidies, and public-sector investment, particularly where conventional banking has failed to reach.

Kellanova and Walmart — in partnership with Indigo Ag — have launched a new program to help Arkansas rice farmers adopt regenerative agriculture practices, including improved water management, optimized fertilizer use, crop rotation, and soil-health techniques. Under the initiative, participating farmers receive a financial premium for each pound of rice produced under those regenerative methods — helping offset the costs of transitioning and encouraging broader adoption. Previously, the Walmart–Indigo Ag partnership already achieved reductions of over 37,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, conserved more than 11 billion gallons of water, and delivered more than $900,000 in extra revenue to participating rice growers. Proponents frame the collaboration as a way to build more resilient, climate-smart supply chains — improving environmental outcomes while offering economic incentives to farmers.

A recent article argues that the Regenerative Organic Certified® program was created to address major shortcomings in conventional and even standard organic agriculture — especially around soil health, animal welfare, and fairness to farmworkers. Unlike basic organic certification, ROC strengthens standards by requiring practices that rebuild soil, maintain biodiversity, avoid synthetic chemicals, guarantee humane treatment of animals, and ensure fair wages and working conditions for farmers and laborers. Advocates say these stricter, holistic standards — when applied at scale — can help capture environmental and social benefits such as carbon sequestration, reduced chemical exposure, better rural livelihoods, and more resilient farming systems. But obstacles remain: high costs, limited awareness, and uneven market demand make widespread adoption challenging; many farms need more support, technical assistance, and consumer demand to make ROC a viable pathway. For stakeholders working on food-system finance, ROC offers a model aligning ecological sustainability, social equity, and long-term resilience — one that could guide investments, subsidies, or technical-assistance programs toward more regenerative outcomes.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that relief measures are imminent for both consumers and producers in the agricultural sector, stating that Americans will see "real relief, very, very soon." She highlighted the dual pressures of rising input costs and log-jammed export markets that are squeezing farm finances and driving up food prices. The relief package under discussion is expected to include bridge payments for farmers still facing losses, to be coupled with structural changes in nutrition assistance programs. While full details remain under wraps, the announcement is expected in early December, marking a coordinated effort to stabilize rural economies and ease consumer food-cost burdens.

The Michigan Good Food Fund (MGFF) has been awarded a $3 million grant through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Partnerships Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Of that funding, $2 million is dedicated to innovative credit enhancements—such as loan guarantees and working-capital grants—aimed at its lender network so that food retail, aggregation and supply-chain businesses in underserved Michigan communities can access financing more easily. The initiative is particularly focused on supporting BIPOC- and women-owned food enterprises, strengthening regional food infrastructure, and increasing fresh, local, culturally relevant food availability where it's been historically lacking. These tools will be layered into MGFF's existing lending and technical assistance operations, helping reduce risk for borrowers and enabling projects (such as grocery-co-ops, local distributors, and supply chain operations) to launch or scale with greater confidence.

According to a recent piece by Wells Fargo published on Trellis Network, businesses in water-intensive sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture are facing rising risks from both droughts and flooding, which are stressing supply chains, infrastructure and operational costs. To address this, Wells Fargo is providing financing tools that support advanced water-reuse systems (including closed-loop wastewater systems), water-efficient technology deployment, nature-based solutions like wetland restoration, and infrastructure upgrades. The article highlights how aligning capital with sustainability objectives enables firms to build resilience and transition toward a circular water economy.

CDFA Opportunity Zones Learning Series: Introduction to Opportunity Zones
January 15, 2026 - 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Eastern

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

During this session of the CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, we explore how to navigate the complexities of combining multiple funding sources into a holistic financial model. We highlight the key players, networks, and frameworks in structuring successful food system financing deals, while discussing how partnership strategies can secure funding, mitigate risk, and maximize impact.

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