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...

How Bread and Butter Farm worked with a patchwork quilt of financing sources to keep land conserved for agriculture.

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,...

This directory provides an overview of various sources of financing that may be available to food hubs and other food-related businesses. This directory is a partial listing of what may be available across the United States; some examples may not be...

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...

During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Webcast Series, Barry Kukovich with Peoples Gas, Glenn Ford with InCity Farms and Rick Terrien with Artisan Food Networks, thought outside the silo and recognized the food system as an economic...

Ohio State aims to increase the amount of local and sustainable food options it provides across its dining facilities to equal at least 40% of its food offerings by 2025. A panel comprised of Ohio State faculty, students, staff and external...

Wendy West Hickey with Peoples Energy, Glenn Ford with Praxis Foods/InCity Farms and Joe Bute with Hollymead Capital present on the Food 21 Controlled Environment Agriculture project. This highly replicable project represents an innovative approach...

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...

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...

Dana Johnson from the Reinvestment Fund presents on investing in food systems in Maryland & the DC area.

This report, by Bob Heuer and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, details how Kansans are leveraging the growing demand for local/regional food produce to revitalize rural communities and strengthen family farms.

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...

This report, produced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), discusses the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program and provides best practices for funding agriculture projects.

This Kresge Foundation case study examines strategies to confront the interconnected web of complex issues facing cities and their residents as they address income inequality and reimagine a sustainable Detroit.

Tim Crosby explores the most innovative and effective access to capital tools used for agriculture-based business, including loan funds and federal and state programs.

Mike Lufkin and Bea Covington discuss the local food systems in WA and how it's become a growing challenge. Mike and Bea discuss changes to the way food is reaching consumers and addressing social issues.

Clint Kaasa discusses how the USDA provides financing programs and strategies for Native communities in Arizona and considers how to leverage the available capital for even greater investment.

In Dr. Barbara Glenn's presentation she discusses NASDA's policy priorities, farm bill priorities, opportunities and challenging areas.

Joe Bute, with Hollymead Capital and PittBusiness discuss the importance of recognizing the challenges of the "critical middle" in the regional food system and facing the challenges of ownership change.

Barry Ryan discusses what The Rural Center is doing to support rural economic development in North Carolina.

Bill McCloskey from the Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy discusses growing investment opportunities around Kentucky.

Gary Smith covers the importance of connecting farmers to business resources, training and financing in order to grow business and promote smart agricultural economic development.

Dr. Linden Thayer and Dr. Beth Hopping, Co-Founders of Food Insight Group, share their perspective on Food to Institution in North Carolina.

Tammy Nebola from the Iowa Agricultural Development Division of the Iowa Finance Authority discusses farming in Iowa and what it takes to finance first time farmers around the state.

Kathryn Colasanti with the Center for Regional Food Systems discuss how her organization is helping to promote farm to institution efforts by convening and coordinating across networks.

Maximilian Merrill covers the core elements of farm to school collaborations.

Stephen McHenry with MARBIDCO covers programs and opportunities for beginning farmers in Maryland.

New state agriculture programs in Minnesota support first time farmers around the state. Ryan Roles with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Rural Finance Authority gives an overview of new programs and changes to the state's agriculture...

Andy Wood gives an overview of what the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation is doing to support farmers struggling to obtain financing in Vermont.

This new publication, entitled "Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities", from the Federal Reserve is designed to highlight the prospects available in the regional food systems sector, advance...

This Crossroads Resource Center report, written by Ken Meter and Megan Philips Goldenberg, examines the food system of Hawaii with special attention to low-income access to food.

This directory, produced by the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, provides an overview of various sources of financing that may be available to food hubs and other food-related businesses. This directory is a partial...

The CDFA & OSU Webcast was a special one time offering. The webcast covered the Energy Finance Landscape and explored how its successes may be applied to the Food Systems Landscape. This webcast was run by students taking the graduate level...

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...

Delivering needed assistance to Minnesota's 74,000 farmers, Governor Mark Dayton today signed the bipartisan $35 million Rural Finance Authority Legislation (H.F. 14) into law. The new funding will allow the Authority to continue offering eligible...

The intention of this NWC NextGen Agribusiness Economic Development Strategy is to expand the NWC conversation beyond entertainment, competition, and education and into research and innovation.

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...

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...

The significant and transformative investments USDA has made in rural America since 2009 have strengthened our nation’s economy, our small towns and our rural communities. Today, two-thirds of rural counties have demonstrated job growth and...

In an effort to support the surrounding community and economy in both the development and implementation of the ReFresh Project, the City of New Orleans provided recruiting, hiring, and training services to ensure a robust local workforce. These...

In 2011-2012, the Los Angeles Food Policy Council developed the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP), an innovative local food procurement policy aimed at building markets for good food to create an equitable food system for all of Los Angeles.

This Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) report documents some of the innovative ways that local leaders are combating a broken food system. UCS highlights five urban communities that demonstrate the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of policy...

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....

The purpose of this report is to provide benchmarks for established and emerging food hubs to use as a comparison for assessing their own financial viability and for making strategic business decisions. The financial analysis can provide valuable...

This profile highlights the Farm to Plate (F2P) Investment Program, which was designed to strategically strengthen the state’s food and farm sector and encourage the purchasing of local foods.

The report’s main focus is on the operational issues faced by food hubs, including choosing an organizational structure, choosing a location, deciding on infrastructure and equipment, logistics and transportation, human resources, and risks. As...

The Food Trust provides a list of healthy food financing programs across the country. This list includes all of the program's partners, funding sources, and types of financing.

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 stakeholders. This Toolkit is designed to...

Counting Values presents a set of financial and operational performance benchmarks for food hubs. This study aims to establish the basis for comparing results across a business sector that is both new and multipurpose.