GrowNewHaven.org helps local food entrepreneurs and farmers navigate planning, launching, and growing local businesses

The City of New Haven’s Food System Policy Division and Food & Society at the Aspen Institute are launching Grow New Haven, a free portal with local resources to help food and agriculture entrepreneurs establish and grow their businesses. A part of the Open Access initiative, the digital one-stop-shop provides current and aspiring small business owners with guidance on business planning, obtaining permits and licenses, securing funding, and sustainable growth.

“Grow New Haven aims to expand food enterprises and equip all residents with clear, easy-to-navigate, and culturally responsive information that they need to succeed,” said Latha Swamy, director of food system policy for the City of New Haven.

Grow New Haven uniquely meets the specific needs of food- and agriculture-based entrepreneurs and businesses with city-specific content for a wide range of food businesses and types. The portal helps people who grow, produce, and sell food to start urban farms, launch and grow food trucks, restaurants, catering companies, cottage food operations, and new food products. Grow New Haven also directs entrepreneurs to local resources, including loan and grant programs, commercial kitchen spaces, restaurant suppliers, and food-related permits from the City of New Haven.

“This portal directly aligns with our department’s goal to support and invest in equitable and community-rooted food system initiatives as a legitimate economic development strategy and to center food and agriculture projects and enterprises as vehicles for shared power, cultural expression, and community asset-building – especially in disinvested neighborhoods, and among Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority (BIPGM),” said Kimberly Acosta, food policy analyst for the City of New Haven.

“Countless residents have sought guidance and support from FSPD to navigate food business licensing (and related) processes over the years,” Swamy said. “They overwhelmingly and consistently report that it’s a confusing, cumbersome, and exasperating regulatory landscape. We aren’t a regulatory department ourselves, but our mission is to support and help manifest community-led efforts that envision and create an environmentally sustainable and socially just food system. New Haven has a long, rich history as a ‘foodie’ city, so we want to ensure that any resident from any neighborhood has the opportunity to grow, cook, make, and sell food in New Haven – and the knowledge and City support to get them there. We especially want to make sure we can all experience and enjoy all these creative, local eats!”

AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY COLLABORATION

With a population of just over 134,000 people and a land area of just over 369 square miles, New Haven is home to over 740 different restaurants and food-related businesses. As a part of FSPD’s approach to building authentic relationships across the food system, the two-person team has visited and revisited countless local businesses. Most recently, the team shared the Grow New Haven portal with business owners and gathered initial feedback on its design and development. Here is what a few of the local entrepreneurs had to say:

  • Andrea Stone, Owner of Kool Breeze Jamerican Cuisine Restaurant at 1400 Whalley Ave, said, “I see the City support and highlight new businesses, particularly those Downtown or in Westville. I’m glad to see a resource like Grow New Haven since it would make information more accessible to business owners in other neighborhoods that meet different cultural and community needs. I want to feel confident in the survival and growth of my businesses. I also want to feel like I am contributing to an economic and community resource for New Haven, while also getting the same benefits as other businesses – like marketing and press, access to information about grants and funding opportunities, and clear guidance on regulations.”
  • Long-time New Haven business owner Kevin Heyward of Kevin’s Seafood on 17 Kimberly Avenue, said, “The portal looks like a great resource for a beginner seeking to start a business. I’m a neighborhood business that’s been running in New Haven for 50 years. I see a lot of new businesses start in New Haven, and I have also seen a lot of turnover in those businesses in my time. I think a resource like this, and the connections FSPD is creating with long-time business owners across New Haven, could provide eager food entrepreneurs better guidance and a dose of reality about the financial and reputational risks that they take on with certain business decisions, like business location, who they lease from, etc. I’m glad I connected with FSPD and their efforts to address the needs of local business owners.”
  • Chris, the son of the owners of Centro de Bienestar Wellness Center on 263 Grand Avenue, said, “I really like the layout of Grow New Haven. It’s easy to navigate and definitely good for people starting businesses. I went with my dad a bunch of times to City Hall to help with licensing and permitting. I’m glad to see a resource like this. It’s definitely going to be helpful.”
  • Jorge Diaz, co-owner of Fabi’s Restaurant & Coffee Shop at 222 Farren Ave, reflected in Spanish [translated], “If someone is thinking about starting a business, it’s great to have a guide where all of the information they need is accessible and in one place, like: general/foundational information that everyone needs to know when starting a business; knowing that you can’t start a food truck and vend just anywhere; knowing about different requirements and standards for your space – emergency exits, entrances, restrooms, positioning/placement of certain equipment/fixtures/etc, and, for example, one place to get the contact and location information for the Health Department, the Fire Department, etc.”
  • Founder and Executive Director of Huneebee Project, Sarah Taylor, shared, “While there are increasing resources available in Connecticut on backyard beekeeping and there is an increasing focus on accessibility and inclusivity, there remains very little guidance on honey production, Servsafe licensure, food licensing and registration, and the retail process. Ultimately, many underserved beekeepers report becoming discouraged by the lack of affordable spaces to harvest their honey frames and confused by the lack of clarity in honey production, retail, and wholesale policies and guidelines. The Grow New Haven portal would be an immense asset – making honey production and sale guidance accessible and clear – for beekeepers of all levels.”

 

NEXT STEPS

“We know the portal won’t be able to address every systemic and municipal barrier or meet every need for residents in this realm,” Swamy said, “but we hope it’s a huge initial step and better accountability towards doing so. This will be a dynamic site that will be regularly improved, updated, and responsive to resident feedback. Multilingual and more multimedia content will be added soon to streamline accessibility. We also hope that this portal will create more synergies across City departments, equip non-profits to better guide residents who participate in entrepreneur-based programs, and serve as an advocacy tool to improve our local and state laws. FSPD is committed to the continuous review and revision of food- and agriculture-related ordinances to better meet the needs of all residents, and we will update portal content as local, state, and federal policies and processes evolve.”

This project expands on work across the city, state, and country to support food-based businesses and entrepreneurs. “We are very grateful for Food & Society’s support of this initiative to provide technical assistance to cities across the country,” Swamy said. “We are thrilled to join      our Open Access peers in DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, LA, and New York.”

New Haven is the sixth city to take part in Food & Society’s Open Access initiative, following successful program launches in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and New York. The Open Access initiative aims to help food entrepreneurs navigate through and over the many challenges to financing and business ownership. With funding from US Bank, Novo Nordisk, Walmart Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Food & Society created the open-source web code available at no cost to cities and other organizations to launch portals to help food entrepreneurs in their communities.

“I’m thrilled for the launch of Grow New Haven. Latha and her team customized the platform that supports the specific needs of local food entrepreneurs and farmers,” said Corby Kummer, executive director of Food & Society at the Aspen Institute. “By connecting local food producers, consumers, and organizations, we’re not just creating a marketplace–we’re building a more resilient and equitable food system for all New Haven residents.”

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About the City of New Haven’s Food System Policy Division

The Food System Policy Division (FSPD) operates through a food justice framework and across three thematic priorities – health equity, socio-economic justice, and environmental justice. To enact change, FSPD works on food, farming, and land-use policies at all levels that impact New Haven residents: from changing practices within organizations and institutions, modifying regulations at a city level, advocating for legislation at a state and federal level, to shaping international agendas. To keep up with Food System Policy Division, please visit our website or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

About Food & Society at the Aspen Institute

Food & Society at the Aspen Institute brings together leaders and decision-makers in the food and beverage industry and the public health community—scientists, nutritionists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and food makers of all kinds—to find solutions to production, health, and communications challenges in the food system. The goal is for people of all income levels to eat better and more healthful diets—and to enjoy them bite by bite. For more information, please visit www.AspenFood.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and Facebook.