RSF Social Finance Announces Investment in Farmigo

SAN FRANCISCO, December 12, 2012 /3BL Media/ - RSF Social Finance (RSF) is pleased to announce that the RSF Mezzanine Fund, L.P., closed a direct equity investment in Farmigo, Inc., an online farmer’s market that connects workplaces directly to multiple local farms to provide a personalized online marketplace for local, fresh-from-harvest food. RSF invested in the Series B Preferred Stock round led by Sherbrooke Capital. This marks RSF’s first direct equity investment in a stand-alone company.

Launched in 2009, Farmigo’s roots are founded in delivering technology to farms to help them manage their CSA subscriptions. Three years later, hundreds of farms in 25 states are using the technology and Farmigo has connected them to over 3,000 delivery sites.

Farmigo is now building on this foundation by expanding the traditional CSA model to offer the selection of a farmer’s market through an easy, online ordering system. Farmigo works with workplaces, schools and community centers to establish delivery sites for local farms, facilitating an easy pick-up for community members. Individual champions who are passionate about fresh, local food are the catalyst for starting a Farmigo community at their workplace. The company is now actively seeking out individuals who want to help bring Farmigo to their workplace, school, or community center. Those interested in starting a Farmigo food community simply submit their details on the Farmigo website and work with a coach to get it started.

“Farmigo is dedicated to creating a healthy alternative food system for generations to come,” says Benzi Ronen, Farmigo CEO. “Through our food communities we are able to disrupt the food system and create direct relationships between consumers and local farmers.”

Farmigo’s mission is closely aligned with RSF’s efforts to build healthy, resilient, local food systems.

“What makes Farmigo stand out is their ability to effectively leverage technology as a tool for building a new food system,” says Joe Avenatti, Managing Director of RSF Capital Management. “Farmigo’s platform results in higher consumption of sustainably produced goods, increased acreage used in a sustainable manner, and represents an increasingly viable model for local food distribution.”

“We are pleased to support the good work of Farmigo and have expressed our confidence in its future prospects by investing in Benzi, his team, and the mission-aligned equity investors that all share our belief that direct, local and long-term customer relationships are not just important in building sustainable food systems—but are the basis of a healthier exchange system overall,” added Don Shaffer, President and CEO of RSF. 

About RSF Social Finance

Located in San Francisco, CA, RSF Social Finance (RSF) is a financial services organization dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money. Since 1984, the organization has made over $275 million in loans and $100 million in grants to non-profit and for-profit social enterprises working in the areas of Food & Agriculture, Education & the Arts, and Ecological Stewardship.

This investment was made possible by the RSF Mezzanine Fund which is operated by the company’s for-profit entity, RSF Capital Management. Designed for high impact companies, the Mezzanine Fund is a unique offering that provides growth capital with the intention of preserving both the ownership and social mission of its founders. To learn more, visit www.rsfsocialfinance.org.

About Farmigo

Farmigo is an online farmer’s market that connects workplaces directly to multiple local farms to provide a personalized online marketplace for local, fresh-from-harvest food. Originally founded in 2009 as cloud based software for farms to manage their CSA subscriptions, Farmigo now provides technology to hundreds of farms in 25 states that are connected to more than 3,000 food communities. The company aims to leverage its online farmer’s market to accelerate the adoption of an alternative, healthier, more efficient food system in order to deliver farm fresh food to more Americans. www.farmigo.com .