AWARDED PROJECTS
Farm Fresh Rhode Island
The Project
The Company is proposing to develop a Food HUB (the “Project”) on a 3.2-acre site on Kinsley Avenue in the Valley neighborhood of Providence. The Project will contain a cluster of food and farm-related businesses that will co-locate and work together to strengthen the local and regional food system.
Approved Incentive
The Sponsor has been approved up to a maximum of $2,222,222[1] in Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credits.
[1] The Company has a one-time right to exercise a Put Option for 90% of the Amount, which would result in net proceeds from the Tax Credits of $2,000,000.
Developer Description
In 2004, Farm Fresh originated as a simple thesis project. Louella Hill, an undergraduate at Brown University began to ask questions about the local food system. Louella noticed there was a disconnect between local farmers and consumers in the region and wanted to address it. In 2005 Louella teamed up with fellow Brown University student and Sustainable Food Initiative member Noah Fulmer to create an online database of local farms, farmers markets, restaurants, grocers, and other business sourcing and serving locally grown foods. Their initiative essentially became a non-profit vegetable broker. Years later, Farm Fresh became a thriving institution in the Southern New England community, bridging the farmer and consumer. Now in its 14th year, Farm Fresh is a nationally recognized organization that develops and operates innovative food system infrastructure in the nation’s smallest state. Farm Fresh runs farmers markets with nutrition education and healthy food incentives, a local food processing kitchen, and a multi-farm wholesale aggregation and delivery program.
