Free Financing Our Foodshed by Carol Peppe Hewitt

investment clubs, and making low-interest loans to small- and medium-scale farmers, to restaurants that specialize in local foods, and to a host of other endeavors that support the local food economy.
    Slow Money NC is busy bringing people together so they can meet and build relationships. Out of these friendships, farmers who need a cash infusion to grow not only their crops, but also their businesses, may find caring, enthusiastic lenders to help make that happen.
    Slow Money NC is a simple way for mission-related investors to financially support nearby food entrepreneurs.
    To quote of one of our Slow Money lenders:
     
         What interests me about Slow Money community investing is that I believe there are very real opportunities to create real value $5,000 or $50,000 or $500,000 at a time. This is way too small for the money managers who divide up a $5B fund into 100 $50M investments. With returns on capital being so low in the global market, I believe there is a new opportunity for the community investor. Namely, a good local investment will provide (1) return of capital, and (2) a solid social dividend. The latter should be a hard, quantifiable number that meaningfully benefits the community into which the investment was placed. Over time, such improvements to the communitywill pay further dividends to the investor, such as the benefit of living in a rich community that is grateful.
    Creating that “solid social dividend” is one of the main objectives of Slow Money.
    But we need more people to understand this and join the Slow Money movement. We need people who can help build Slow Money networks in their communities and help get more money flowing to our small food enterprises. And we need them now.
    Why? Because we have talented chefs like Angelina, Stephanie, and many others, who care about small farms, and they need our help.
Angelina and Her Kitchen
    Angelina Koulazakis is one of those special food entrepreneurs. I get a huge boost just walking through the door of her place.
    Our small town, Pittsboro, is at the very center of North Carolina. At the crossroads of downtown Pittsboro, you can find Angelina cooking up a storm. As you enter her restaurant, Angelina’s Kitchen, the welcome is immediate. Flyers for local events fill the bulletin board on your right, and off to the left are boxes of fresh, local food that the farmers have just dropped off that will be making their way into the Daily Special.
    When you walk up to place your order, the kitchen is right in front of you. Only a counter with menus, a cash register, and a plate of homemade cookies separate you from the trays of cheese and spinach pies going in and out of the oven, the sink where someone is washing local parsley for tabouli, and the grill where pitas are warming. You can lean around the glass screen to see the dozen or so items that go into your Greek salad. If you are high maintenance (like me), you may even ask the salad maker to add a few extra Calamata olives and fewer rice-filled grape leaves.
    The menu changes daily. Of course, there is the usual Mediterranean fare — hummus, avgolemono (chicken) soup, spanakopita,falafel, gyro sandwiches, and made-from-scratch baklava made with local honey. In addition to the standard menu, each day a seasonal vegetable and meat dish are on offer. Most of the ingredients for these specials come from nearby farms.
    Angelina buys as much local food as she can. This cheerful Greek restaurant is a godsend to farmers who find themselves with extra produce at the end of a farmers market, as well those from whom Angelina orders regularly. And it’s certainly a delight to eaters looking for delicious, healthy, hearty, locally grown fare.
    But Angelina’s Kitchen isn’t exactly what she had planned. Angelina and her husband, John, moved from New Mexico to North Carolina in 2005. They had been working for large commercial construction contractors, John as a surveyor and project manager and Angelina as a