Food Systems Finance Resource Center
Food systems are an important driver for local economic development and the financing sources needed to support those systems are vast. Communities throughout the country are financing their own food systems with various innovative strategies to support local markets, first time farmers, new food enterprises, and neighborhoods lacking food access.
The CDFA Food Systems Finance Resource Center outlines development finance tools that can be used to support local food systems, such as bonds, tax increment finance, tax credits, special assessment districts, revolving loan funds and others. Traditional development finance tools provide access to capital for establishing food industry participants, supporting local farming, investing in the food delivery infrastructure, financing food scarcity challenges, and starting small food businesses. A variety of innovative approaches and creative programs have been employed by development finance agencies to support food systems financing, which can be accessed in the resources provide below.
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-Food Systems Finance Resources
CDFA "Defining the Food System Asset Class" ProjectMembers only 
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Traditionally, Development Finance and the Food System have not collaborated in any significant fashion. However, food systems can be brought into coordination with public finance in order to bring capital to the system as a whole. Toby Rittner with CDFA discusses the use of traditional financing tools like bonds for non-profits, food hubs, and farm expansions, as well as tax increment finance for food industry industrial parks, neighborhood revitalization, or early stage financing models for entrepreneurs and food technology based businesses.
Local Food Action PlanMembers only Login
Traditionally, Development Finance and the Food System have not collaborated in any significant fashion. However, food systems can be brought into coordination with public finance in order to bring capital to the system as a whole. Brian Estabrook with Franklin County Economic Development and Planning discusses Franklin County's work on Action C-9.
More Food Systems Finance Resources
-Agriculture Finance Resources
-Financing Programs
Search the map below to find food financing programs by state. This specialized search is part of
CDFA's State Financing Program Directory, the only online resource cataloging the development finance programs offered by state governments. Click on a state to see a sample of food financing programs available. Login with a CDFA Member account at the top of the page to view full results.
-Case Studies
NMTCs Serve Up New Space for Food Business EntrepreneursMembers only Login
For partners in the $17.5 million L.A. Prep project, the recipe for a successful food business accelerator calls for equal parts social philanthropy, economic development and collaborative synergy. L.A. Prep was financed using $16 million in NMTC allocation from the Los Angeles Development Fund and from UrbanAmerica..
CDFA "Defining the Food System Asset Class" ProjectMembers only Login
Traditionally, Development Finance and the Food System have not collaborated in any significant fashion. However, food systems can be brought into coordination with public finance in order to bring capital to the system as a whole. Toby Rittner with CDFA discusses the use of traditional financing tools like bonds for non-profits, food hubs, and farm expansions, as well as tax increment finance for food industry industrial parks, neighborhood revitalization, or early stage financing models for entrepreneurs and food technology based businesses.
Local Food Action PlanMembers only Login
Traditionally, Development Finance and the Food System have not collaborated in any significant fashion. However, food systems can be brought into coordination with public finance in order to bring capital to the system as a whole. Brian Estabrook with Franklin County Economic Development and Planning discusses Franklin County's work on Action C-9.
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-Headlines
-Training Courses
The
Intro Food Systems Finance Webcourse examines the development finance programs that sustain a local food system and how investments in that system can drive economic development on a broader scale. Topics covered include federal, state, and local sources of capital, stakeholders involved in the financing process, and case study examples that showcase the variety of financing programs.
This course explores how bonds, tax credits, loan programs, foundation grants, and other financing tools can be used to support a local food system and encourage follow-on investment, small business development, and sustainable growth. In particular, this course addresses the financing challenges associated with growing, processing, distributing, marketing, and selling food.
-Webcasts
-Publications
Practitioner's Guide to Economic Development Finance
The Practitioner's Guide to Economic Development Finance 2nd Edition is the only comprehensive resource dedicated to building and utilizing the development finance toolbox. The Practitioner's Guide provides the insight and practical information needed to critically understand how economic development is financed and the tools, strategies and techniques used to build strong communities. From bonds, tax increment finance and special districts to tax credits, seed & venture capital, revolving loan funds and much more, this Guide outlines the financing tools required for succeeding in today's competitive economic development climate.
Unlocking Capital: A Handbook for Becoming a High Performing Development Finance Agency
Unlocking Capital: A Handbook for Becoming a High Performing Development Finance Agency (Handbook) serves as a companion to the Practitioner’s Guide to help illuminate the structures of development finance agencies (DFAs), essential conduits to access development finance tools. The Handbook provides an overview of DFAs and their myriad roles in various development efforts. Included in this discussion is a comprehensive look at over a dozen high-performing DFAs throughout the country. The Handbook is designed to be a starting point for local leaders to engage in the creation or acceleration of a DFA to build and utilize the development finance toolbox.
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Through a W.K. Kellogg funded research project entitled
Defining the Food System Asset Class, CDFA is heavily researching the potential for DFA's to become more engaged in developing localized food systems through traditional finance approaches such as bonds, tax increment finance, tax credits, and revolving loan funds.
Want to learn more about CDFA's
Defining the Food System Asset Class project?
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