(CLOSED) Request for Proposals: Food Financing Consultant
The San Diego Food System Alliance is seeking a Food Financing Consultant to support our Access to Capital work within the Local Food Economy Lab.
Context
The Alliance recently launched the Local Food Economy Lab, a new initiative that centers equity and community ownership, and works to support the viability of small-scale farmers, ranchers, fishermen, food business owners, as well as the communities they serve in San Diego County. The Lab’s mission is to create an inclusive food economy that works for everyone. The Lab creates shared spaces that foster collaboration and creativity, seeds community ownership and wealth building, and provides holistic support services.
The Lab works with an ecosystem of service providers to serve businesses at all stages, especially those where traditional business development services have been out of reach. We focus on serving Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Middle Eastern, North African, and other people of color, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+, seniors, low-income individuals, and those advancing community ownership and collaborative models.
The Lab's holistic support services include peer-to-peer collaboration and learning opportunities, comprehensive business resource directories and tailored consulting/coaching, access to land, capital, markets, and market research, and policy advocacy. The concept for the Lab was developed through a six-month co-design process with local beneficiaries.
Objective
The Alliance is seeking proposals from consultant(s) with expertise in food system finance to research capital access needs across the food supply chain and develop a financing continuum for small-scale San Diego County farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and food businesses.
Through the co-design process, the Lab has already formed deep relationships with local beneficiaries and would like to learn more about their specific needs and challenges with accessing capital. In addition, the Alliance is interested in developing a financing continuum that highlights the various types of capital available for businesses across the food supply chain in San Diego County, with a focus on small-scale businesses owned by Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Middle Eastern, North African, and other people of color, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+, seniors, low-income individuals, and those advancing community ownership and collaborative models.
The goal of the financing continuum is to make it easier for local businesses across the food system to identify and access appropriate sources of capital for their operations.
Request For Proposals
We have created a Request For Proposals to find the right consultant for this important work. Please share with your networks and reach out to Sona Desai, our Co-Executive Director, at sona@sdfsa.org, if you have any questions.
Thank you!