CDFA Food and Agriculture Finance Update - October 8, 2019

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Features

IL Restaurant Wants to Change Economic Model and Start RLF

Carbondale Spring, a social and political activist group, started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $45,000 to purchase the now-shuttered local business and form the city's first worker co-op. Carbondale Spring organizers then want the $45,000 used to purchase Fat Patties to be paid back to a revolving loan fund that will be used to fund other businesses in Carbondale that will adopt this ownership model.

MoFi Invests in Grocery Supplier/Distributor in Caldwell, ID

A member of the Jackson Food Stores family, Capitol Distributing is a grocery supplier/distributor to convenience stores across the Rocky Mountain West. The company sources, inventories, and delivers over 8,000 products to convenience store retailers. The company also provides services to its customers, including merchandising, laundry and technology solutions.

SBA 504 Loan Helps Restaurant Go from Renters to Owners

TMC Financing, a commercial real estate lender specializing in SBA 504 loans for growing businesses helped the proud owners of LoCoco's Cucina Rustica purchase the building that they were previously leasing for their restaurant. By utilizing the SBA 504 Program, the LoCoco's were able to purchase the 12,000 SF building with only a 10% down payment combined with a 20-year fixed interest rate.

TIF Helps Retrofit Grocery Store and Revitalize Neighborhood

It's revitalization began as Paul Gothra opened up Gothra's Neighborhood Market in the building that was formerly a Marsh grocery store until the chain went bankrupt in 2017. When Gothra indicated his intent to buy and renovate the lots, the City stepped up to help. It put $131,000 of Tax Increment Financing money toward improvements for the block in an effort to raise property values and taxes.

Senate Appropriations Bill Underfunds Priority Farm and Food Programs

The Senate moved the ball forward by "marking up" and passing their agriculture appropriations bill out of both the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and full Senate Appropriations Committee including $23.1 billion in discretionary funding for many of the major programs and functions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

No-Interest Loans Aim to Develop Agricultural Economy

A new regional nonprofit, Four Corners Slow Money, wants to help develop the regional agricultural economy by providing small-scale farmers and food-focused entrepreneurs with no-interest loans. Small growers can have trouble qualifying for traditional loans if they don't have credit, if they require a small dollar amount or if they need flexible terms.

Lebanon, IL Creates TIF District for New Family-Owned Grocery

As part of the effort to increase economic development in Lebanon, the City Council created its first TIF district and Don's IGA is in the district. In a TIF, or tax increment financing, district, property values in the district are frozen at their current levels for a 23-year period and any additional revenue generated by a rise in property values is channeled into a special fund earmarked for infrastructure improvements and economic incentives in the district.

Michigan Good Food Fund Accepting Applications for Catalytic Investment Awards

The Michigan Good Food Fund is excited to announce a new round of Catalytic Investment Awards designed to help mission-driven good food entrepreneurs take their business to the next level including preparing for financing. $250,000 in awards will be distributed.

Upcoming Events

CDFA National Development Finance Summit

Catalyzing Opportunity Zone Investments in New England (2019)
October 22, 2019 - Boston, MA

Join CDFA for the Catalyzing Opportunity Zone Investments conference in New England on October 22, 2019 for a special one-day event hosted at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. This event will feature a number of economic development finance experts from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont discussing Opportunity Zones and the development finance tools, authorities, resources and approaches, and how these can affect the New England economies going forward.

CDFA-Bricker PACE Webinar Series: PACE Program Design
October 16, 2019 - 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Eastern

In this webinar, industry leaders from C-PACE Alliance, the Keystone Energy Alliance, Clean Fund, and Bricker & Eckler] will share their experience in drafting PACE statutes, advocating for legislative changes to existing PACE statutes, determining and correcting market flaws or deficiencies, and increasing market volume. Capital providers will share some insights on how they arrange capital for projects, and the importance of certain market-based principles underlying the development of C-PACE as an asset class in commercial lending.

Food & Agriculture Finance News

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

CDFA Publications

Research and written by CDFA, this white paper is part of a series examining the potential creation of a food systems asset class which supports the market growth of local and regional food systems which meet the economic, social, environmental, and cultural needs of communities throughout the country. This paper focuses specifically on financing that provides access to capital, outlining this category of tools and demonstrating how they can be utilized for various types of food-related endeavors.

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

The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) is a national association dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. CDFA is comprised of the nation's leading and most knowledgeable members of the development finance community representing public, private and non-profit entities alike. For more information, visit www.CDFA.net or email info@cdfa.net.

Council of Development Finance Agencies
100 E. Broad Street, Suite 1200
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 705-1300
info@cdfa.net