The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation unanimously authorized a maximum of $2.2 million in Rebuild Rhode Island tax credits to close a financing gap for the planned development. Farm Fresh RI plans to build a 60,000 square foot headquarters on the site, with completion scheduled for 2020. The facility is also set to house retail and wholesale distributors, along with a year-round farmers market.

A Louisiana program is offering $800,000 in financing to supermarkets and grocery stores in underserved communities affected by hurricanes. The Healthy Food Retail Program will provide flexible financing to enable operators to open, renovate, or expand retail outlets that sell healthy food.

The Fresh Start Hutchinson Neighborhood Grocery Store would be financed/funded through a $2.6 million HUD loan, a $1.5 million CRA grant from the state, $3 million in New Market Tax Credits, and tax increment financing. The proposed 25,000 square foot grocery store would be built in what is considered to be a food desert.

The Rural Finance Authority board issued a disaster declaration for the State of Minnesota, which now makes low interest loans available for Minnesota farmers whose operations suffered damage due to the record winter snowfall. The disaster recovery loan program can be used to help clean-up, repair or replace farm structures and septic and water systems, as well as replace cropping inputs, feed and livestock.

More than $8 million in grants and low-interest loans were recently provided to support Pennsylvania's farms, including $5 million in grants awarded through the new Pennsylvania Dairy Investment Program. The governor's Pennsylvania Farm Bill proposal includes continued funding for this program in the Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget and signals a commitment to Pennsylvania's agriculture industry.

Reinvestment Fund is offering a new capital and planning resource that aims to increase access to healthy, nutritious meals for children from vulnerable populations. The New Jersey Child Nutrition Fund (NJCNF) offers capital and technical assistance to providers who participate or wish to participate in federal meal programs, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). 

Having helped successfully deliver major victories for sustainable agriculture in the 2018 Farm Bill, family farmers are keeping the momentum going as Congress begins the FY 2020 appropriations cycle. Supported by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a dozen farmers and food advocates visited the capital to ask congressional appropriators to prioritize sustainable food and farm programs in the upcoming spending bill.

Fort Wayne's Plowshares Food Hub has planned a grand launch to celebrate moving to its next development phase. To assist, Plowshare looks to the Brightpoint Development Fund, a Small Business Administration microlender specializing in loans of up to $50,000 for business startups and one of the few lenders in the region who will help finance startups.

CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Emerging Structures for Investing in Low-Income Communities
Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - 1:00 PM Eastern

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