Financing, Technical Assistance, & Grants to Help DC Food Businesses Expand Economic Prosperity

Building a strong, local food ecosystem supports healthier neighborhoods, economic prosperity, and high-quality jobs in the District of Columbia, especially in communities that have experienced poor health outcomes and limited economic opportunities.

Launched in 2021, the Nourish DC Collaborative was created in partnership with the Government of the District of Columbia to support the development of a robust ecosystem of locally owned food businesses, neighborhood vibrancy, and healthy DC neighborhoods, especially in neighborhoods with limited grocery stores and other food businesses. Nourish DC provides flexible loans, technical assistance, and grants to emerging and existing food businesses in the District of Columbia, with a preference for businesses located in or owned by DC residents in neighborhoods with limited access to grocery.

Nourish DC services support the entire food value chain and are available to a wide range of food businesses, including grocery stores, food incubators, corner stores, cooperative businesses, farmers markets, food delivery businesses, urban farms, food processors, food hubs, restaurants, and caterers.

Key Features of Nourish DC

Through Nourish DC, food business owners in the District can access technical assistance through these partner programs:

• CDC Small Business Finance: Small Business Advisory Services
• The Dreaming Out Loud (DOL) Ready for Entrepreneurship Accelerator Modules Program (DREAM Program) is a 16-week incubator program for food entrepreneurs residing in Washington, DC.
• EatsPlace offers technical services such as business consulting, access to a commercial kitchen incubator, and pop-up lab space for farm and food businesses.
• The Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) Food Ventures Initiative is a program for entrepreneurs that offers training and useful connections to develop, test, and formalize a business idea in the food industry.
• Washington Area Community Investment Fund’s (Wacif’s) Ascend Capital Accelerator provides entrepreneurs the ability to accelerate business growth, access and obtain capital, and pursue government contracting opportunities.

Flexible Loans

The Nourish DC lending partners — Capital Impact Partners, CDC Small Business Finance (CDC), City First Enterprises (CFE), EatsPlace, the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC), and Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) — are all local Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that collectively offer multiple loan products to meet the varied financing needs of food entrepreneurs of all different sizes. We know every project is different, and work with borrowers to match their unique needs with the right loan offering. Start-up and existing food businesses are eligible to apply.

Specific loan terms vary by loan size and purpose, but features include the following:
Uses	Working capital, lines of credit, equipment, vehicle acquisition, predevelopment, real estate acquisition, renovation, new construction, leasehold or tenant improvements, refinancing
Amount	Microloans as small as $1,000 to real estate secured loans as large as $10,000,000
Term	As short as 90 days for smaller loans and up to 10 years for larger loans
Interest Rate	Varies by lender and type of loan
Fees	1.25% to 3% of loan size
Payments	May include interest-only and/or principal and interest payments on varying amortization schedules
Amortization	Interest only, partial, and fully amortizing loans on amortization schedules up to 25 years
Guarantees	Varies; personal guarantees required for most loans

Grants

Nourish DC deploys grants to food businesses to support their efforts to increase access to healthy food and create and retain quality jobs throughout the District. Since 2021, there have been two rounds of Nourish DC grants, disbursing over $900,000 to 22 D.C. food businesses. For more information on the Nourish DC Grants, refer to the press releases for round one and round two of the award.

In partnership with the Morningstar Foundation, Capital Impact Partners created the Keeping It Cool Grant to fund cold storage infrastructure and equipment needs in D.C. and surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia. The Keeping It Cool Grant disbursed $1.1 million over two rounds to 34 food nonprofits and businesses since 2023. For more information on the Keeping It Cool Grant, refer to the press releases for round one and round two of the award,

Nourish DC Impact Since 2021

Nourish DC Collaborative Partners