3c hapter - Index of

Slow Money 153
terms that are destructive. It seeks a common ground, recognizing
the connection between investors and entrepreneurs and the
fact that we all live on this Earth together. (RSF Social Finance,
a fi nancial organization and Slow Money affi liate that invests in
food, agriculture, and other social impact ventures, actually brings
together representatives from its borrower and lender groups to
agree upon a fair interest rate).
We typically think of returns solely in fi nancial terms. But
there are other ways to measure return. A safe food system, fewer
food miles, increased biodiversity, the pleasures of a great meal—
these are all dividends of investing in sustainable food enterprises.
Economically, the returns include the creation of stable, local jobs
and money that stays in the community.
Food- related businesses in New York’s Hudson Valley, for
example, have a local multiplier effect of 2.5 to 3.5, according
to the Columbia County Agribusiness Corporation, an economic
development agency. In a survey of farms in four contiguous
towns in the county, the agency found that farmers made the
bulk of their purchases, for items like fencing, feed, and the like,
within an hour’s drive.
A study by the University of Georgia concluded that, if each of
the state’s 3.7 million households spent $10 per week on produce
grown in Georgia, more than $1.9 billion would be pumped into
the state’s economy. And for every 5 percent increase in local produce
sales, the state would gain 345 jobs, $43.7 million in sales,
and $13.6 million in farmer income. Today, just a tiny fraction of
produce grown in Georgia ends up on its tables. 6
Similarly, a study of a 16-county region in northeast Ohio
found that if local producers could supply 25 percent of the
region’s food demand, 27,664 jobs could be created, providing
work for one in eight unemployed residents. In addition, the
region’s economic output would see a $4.2 billion boost, generating
$126 million for state and local tax collections. 7
These are among the considerations that drive people
like Christo pher Lindstrom, a Slow Money board member and
cofounder of the Berkshares local currency, to change the way they
invest. “I really want to start putting my money where my mouth