Key Growth Sector

Food manufacturers are a key component of the City’s economy and one of the City’s industrial success stories.  There are approximately 19,200 City residents working in food manufacturing – including 2,500 self-employed individuals – and over 900 food manufacturing businesses in the City.  Nevertheless, small businesses in the food manufacturing industry looking to expand face an exceedingly difficult financing environment.  Providing capital to these underserved businesses during critical growth stages is important to ensure the overall success and expansion of this industry.

To support the City’s food manufacturing sector, NYCEDC has partnered with Goldman Sachs Bank USA to launch The 10,000 Small Businesses NYCEDC Food Manufacturers Fund to make affordable financing available and to enable eligible businesses in the City’s small food manufacturing sector to invest and expand their business operations and create new employment opportunities in the City.

The Fund is an extension of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, a $500 million program to help small businesses grow by offering a combination of business education, capital and mentoring.   Just as New York led the launch of the program, the Food Manufacturing Fund is an innovative access to capital initiative tailored to the local needs of the New York City small businesses market.

Selection Process and Timeline

Through a public Request for Proposal, NYCEDC and Goldman Sachs will select a community development financial institution (CDFI) to administer the program, make loans to qualifying food manufacturers in the City, and provide other related services. 

The RFP is available under NYCEDC's Procurement Opportunities.

The Fund is expected to launch early Fall 2011 and offer first loans by December 2011.

Loan Eligibility

New York City-based food manufacturers may apply to the Fund to secure a loan for the purpose of business expansion. To be eligible, a business must meet the following qualifications:

• Engage in the business of Food Manufacturing as defined by North American Industry Classification System code 311, transforming livestock and agricultural products into products for consumption, which are then sold to wholesalers, retailers or sold by the business itself, but not for immediate consumption.
• Demonstrate difficulty obtaining credit from traditional sources.
• Be located in the City as its main place of business and business operations, and also have been formed under the laws of New York State or have qualification to do business in New York State.
• Employ 4 to 100 persons, have annual revenues of $150,000 to $7,000,000 in the most recent financial year, and have been in operation for at least two years.