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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-Defining the Food System as an Asset Class
CDFA is producing six in-depth white papers defining how traditional development finance tools can be used to demonstrate the viability of the food system as an asset class. The first white paper is an overview of development finance with an explanation of why and how these tools can be applied to the food system. The next four white papers will provide an extensive description of development finance tools that can be employed for food-related projects – access to capital, bedrock tools, targeted tools, and investment tools – alongside comprehensive case studies that successfully utilize each of these tools. The final white paper will conceptualize the future possibilities of the food system financing landscape.
Learn More -Food Systems Finance Resources
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, provide clear focus on equity and food access, and identify specific opportunities that could warrant further research.
Food 21 Building a Resilient and Sustainable Food EconomyMembers only 
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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 grown foods to market while helping grow the local/regional food business economy year-round. Job opportunities will grow in all sectors of the food business supply chain, and new employment opportunities and job training programs will be developed.
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, and the associated impact goes a long way towards creating a path for future generations to enjoy the same prosperity that we do.
Innovations in Local Food Enterprise ReportMembers only Login
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 return on our activities and second, the desire and value held by people in all sectors of our society that getting healthy food to all people is the right thing to do.
More Food Systems Finance Resources
-Agriculture Finance Resources
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 the solar arrays over 5 years.
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, provide clear focus on equity and food access, and identify specific opportunities that could warrant further research.
Food 21 Building a Resilient and Sustainable Food EconomyMembers only Login
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 grown foods to market while helping grow the local/regional food business economy year-round. Job opportunities will grow in all sectors of the food business supply chain, and new employment opportunities and job training programs will be developed.
More 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
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 the solar arrays over 5 years.
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, provide clear focus on equity and food access, and identify specific opportunities that could warrant further research.
Food 21 Building a Resilient and Sustainable Food EconomyMembers only Login
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 grown foods to market while helping grow the local/regional food business economy year-round. Job opportunities will grow in all sectors of the food business supply chain, and new employment opportunities and job training programs will be developed.
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, and the associated impact goes a long way towards creating a path for future generations to enjoy the same prosperity that we do.
More Case Studies
-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?
Learn More