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Land Security
Innovative, integrated financing to support farmland ownership.
Rural Beacon Initiative, Croatan Institute, and Foodshed Capital convene
to celebrate the groundbreaking at Free Union Farm in 2022
The Free Union Farms project is led by Rural Beacon Initiative (RBI), an organization working to advance community ownership in the new clean energy economy. Founded by scholar and advocate William Barber III, RBI believes that bridging climate investment and community health starts with creating model communities that are replicable, scalable, and address the urgent issues of our time.
Free Union Farms (formerly Vera Brown Farms) is a 52-acre parcel of land in a historic freedmen's community in an economically distressed region of eastern North Carolina. Under RBI's management, it will become a multi-phase, multi-enterprise sustainability hub that demonstrates renewable energy, regenerative agricultural practices, and increases regional food access.
Foodshed Capital and RBI partnered with Croatan Institute to develop an innovative, integrated financing model that pairs low-cost financing with a loan guarantee and philanthropic support. In March of 2022, the partnership successfully financed the purchase of the land with a 0% interest loan, and in May 2022, Rural Beacon broke ground on the project.
Free Union
Farms
Pineywoods, NC
The Southeastern United States,
and rural communities in particular,
are too often hotbeds of poverty, environmental disaster, and economic disinvestment. This project is
our attempt to stand in the gap
and help create a new direction."
- William Barber III
Tyrone Power Cherry III
Petersburg Oasis
CommUNITY Farm
Foodshed Capital lending and outreach teams and board member Harrison Roday learning about the vision in Petersburg, VA
Petersburg Oasis
CommUNITY
Farm
Petersburg, VA
The Petersburg Oasis CommUNITY Farm is located in a classified food desert in central Virginia, and its name is a reference to the farm's potential to serve as an oasis of hope. Project lead Tryone Cherry III is an educator and food justice advocate who is dedicated to increasing fresh food access for public elementary and middle schools and neighbors nearby. The farm's community garden spaces, educational programming, farmer training programs, and produce stand have already made substantial impacts in the community.
After over six years of working on the same property, Cherry and his team have invested considerable time and resources into building infrastructure and place-based programming, and they have long hoped for a way to have more stability in the property.
The 5-acre farmland where Petersburg Oasis CommUNITY Farm operates recently came up for sale. Through a partnership with Agrarian Trust and the Central Virginia Agrarian Commons, Cherry was presented with an innovative way to secure the land. While the organizations fundraised in support of the property purchase, Foodshed Capital extended a 0% interest bridge loan for Agrarian Trust and the local Central Virginia Agrarian Commons to secure the property. The purchase ensures the property will never be sold again and provides Cherry and his team with the security of a 99-year lease to grow their operation and expand programming.
Butts Bros. Farm
Knox, NY
Butts Bros Farm is a nose-to-tail diversified livestock operation that centers environmental stewardship, education, and food access.
Manged by Justin Butts, a Navy veteran, certified chef with a degree from The Culinary Institute of America, a seasoned livestock manager trained at The Seed Farm and Soul Fire Farm, and a Braiding Seeds Fellow, Justin brings a wealth of experience to his operation. His goal is to create a holistic farm, food, and value-added enterprise that can also serve as an incubator and community space.
In collaboration with Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT, Trellis Capital, and several private investors, Foodshed Capital supported Butts Bros Farm with a 0% interest loan to purchase a 100+ acre property in upstate New York, which will give him the security to invest in permanent infrastructure and make holistic long-term plans for his business.
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