Online Resource Database
Most resources in the ORD are available to CDFA members only. CDFA members should login with their CDFA Account at the top of the page to access the full set of resources. Non-members are encouraged to
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The Power of PACE for 5 Spoke Creamery
5 Spoke Creamery, a Hudson Valley-based artisanal cheese making business, installed a 53kW solar system that will provide 108% of the farm’s electricity needs. The farm used PACE financing, offered by the Energize NYtm Finance program, to pay for...
Puget Sound, WA Food Infrastructure Exploration
The objectives of the Puget Sound Food Infrastructure Exploration were: to assess and clarify the need for local food system infrastructure in the Puget Sound region, facilitate a collaborative review that aligns with existing civic programs,...
Food 21 Building a Resilient and Sustainable Food Economy
Since the inception of the modern food industry and the period marking the post-world war period, there has never been a time when consumers have been so far in front of the food industry’s directions. The InCity Farm can bring year-round, locally...
Innovations in Local Food Enterprise ReportMembers only 
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This report focuses on market-based, consumer-driven solutions to overcoming difficult food access and food equity issues. The market based approach to food access and equity merges two powerful forces: first, the need and desire to make a financial...
The Investment Advantages of Organic FarmingMembers only Login
Environmental stewardship is becoming increasingly key to our economic vitality. As a result, investors are financing businesses that make a profit because of environmental sustainability, rather than in spite of it. The financial returns are real,...
Growing the U.S. Green Bond MarketMembers only Login
The United States’ deteriorating infrastructure is woefully underprepared to address the challenge of adapting to climate change. The funding gap has presented an opportunity for global capital markets to create investment vehicles that provide...
White Paper 1: Food Systems & Development Finance
Many food-related initiatives, projects, and businesses have lacked sufficient resources and financing for economic and community development, largely because the food system as a whole has not been formally defined as an asset class. As the first...
FINE Farm to College Report in New EnglandMembers only Login
This is a Farm to Institution New England report that highlights the data collected from college dining operators in the region. This is the second report in their new series designed to help food system stakeholders understand the impact of...
USDA Food System Audio InterviewsMembers only Login
Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan looks back at the start of the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative and discusses building local food systems into the USDA culture. David Deloach, owner of Freshfields, talks about operating locally grown...
MA Local Food Action PlanMembers only Login
We all eat, and therefore we are all important participants in the food system. The choices we make about the food we buy and where we buy it drive production, influence markets, support economies close to Introduction 18 || Massachusetts Local Food...
Healthy Food Financing Initiative 2016Members only Login
HFFI provides one-time grants and loans to projects like grocery stores, farmers markets, food hubs, co-ops and other food access businesses in urban or rural areas of need, many of whom face barriers in accessing traditional loans and resources....
Financing Local & Regional Food EnterprisesMembers only Login
James Barham, Rural Business-Cooperative Service - USDA Rural Development, covers the role of USDA and Rural Development, stages of business development and capital stacking, financing food enterprises example, and USDA resources to support local...
The Economics of Local Food Systems
This Toolkit reflects the intention of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service to expand its current role as a technical assistance provider to food system practitioners, economic developers, and community stakeholdersThis Toolkit is designed to...