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Athol’s Organic Renaissance to Distribute Locally Grown Food Across New England with Help From MassDevelopment Loan

November 10, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077
Jonathan Kemp, Organic Renaissance, 888-789-5622

MassDevelopment has provided a $675,000 loan from the Agency’s general fund to Organic Renaissance LLC, a new Athol business that focuses on distributing locally grown produce and other local food products to end users, such as restaurants, retailers, CSAs, and institutions, across Massachusetts and New England. The company’s business model seeks to lower distribution costs while improving marketplace access for farmers and food producers. As the business expands over the next few years, Organic Renaissance expects to create 33 new jobs.

“Organic Renaissance’s innovative model will play a feature role in the continuing revival of locally grown produce,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Robert L. Culver. “This low-cost loan ties in to MassDevelopment’s focus on the Commonwealth’s farmers and complements our work with The Carrot Project and Strolling of the Heifers through our small farm loan program. The benefits of Organic Renaissance’s business are twofold: providing more access for fresh, local food to consumers and expanding the market for growers.”

In terms of food distribution, Organic Renaissance will provide access to an online ordering system to both end-users like restaurants and retail stores and farmers. Customers can order directly from growers, and growers can see who is ordering the food and how much. Organic Renaissance will keep the food at its Athol facility or receive deliveries from the farmer, and in turn will deliver the orders to customers. The company will lease about 10,000 square feet in an Athol mill building for its operations.

MassDevelopment served as the lead lender in a three-way participation loan with the Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund (WMEF) and the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation (NCMDC), for a total loan of $950,000. Loans were enhanced by a 90 percent guaranty through the USDA Rural Development’s Business and Industry (B&I) Loan Guarantee Program, which supports rural businesses, job creation and retention, and the economic and environmental climate of these communities. MassDevelopment was recently approved as a Massachusetts lender for that program.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2009, MassDevelopment financed or managed 229 projects statewide representing the investment of nearly $1.2 billion in the Massachusetts economy.

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