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Founded in 1984, Boston Community Capital (BCC) is one of the most innovative and successful community development financial institutions in the nation.  To date, it has lent more than $1 billion and leveraged $6 billion in additional investment. Its investments are credited with preventing more than 800 foreclosure-related evictions, renovating 2 million square feet of real estate, building or preserving nearly 20,000 units of affordable housing, and creating 4,440 living-wage jobs.  BCC is also one of the largest solar providers to affordable housing in the country—its financing has helped to generate 26.5 million kilowatts of solar capacity, saving customers millions in energy costs.

GreenStar is a consumer-owned grocery with over 12,000 members and three stores.  Aiming to making the food system more equitable, sustainable, and locally-based, GreenStar launched an affiliate nonprofit in 2007, GreenStar Community Projects, which supports community initiatives around food justice and sustainability.  Also committed to sustainability, the cooperative owns a 426 panel solar farm (the largest solar array owned by a food co-op in the U.S.), which can generate 146,000 kilowatts a year.

The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) was established in 2006 to address food insecurity in Detroit’s black community and to organize city residents to take a leadership role in the food security movement. Aiming to promote self-reliance, food security, and justice in Detroit’s Black neighborhoods, DBCFSN focuses on influencing public policy, engaging in urban agriculture, promoting healthy eating, encouraging cooperative buying, and directing youth towards food-related careers.  The nonprofit’s seven-acre site, D-Town Farm, grows more than 30 types of fruits and vegetables, and includes a rain retention pond, solar energy station, and composting area.  To increase access to healthy, affordable food while building community ownership and creating local jobs, DBCFSN plans to create the Detroit Food Commons, which will include a cooperative grocery store, a kitchen jobs incubator, a healthy food café, and space for community events.