Food Systems & Targeted Tools

Communities and regions around the country are turning to food and agricultural sectors for the opportunities they offer in growing economies, improving public health, addressing social issues, responding to environmental challenges, and celebrating local culture. Financing the diversity of food-related businesses and projects -- from dairyfarms and restaurants to small-scale canneries and seafood processing facilities -- has been difficult in the past, yet a wide range of underutilized resources exist today that can help build a better food system.As part of a white paper series demonstrating the vast potential for applying traditional finance tools to the foodsystem, this paper focuses on tools that are used to target certain geographies, project types, or sectors. This category of targeted financing is described below, followed by a range of case studies showing how these different types of finance can be utilized in local and regional food system development.