(Washington, D.C.) Partners for the Common Good, a national non-profit loan fund that works to advance economic justice and opportunity for low-income communities, is pleased to announce a loan to Sea to Table, a Brooklyn-based seafood distributor that provides sustainably harvested fish to restaurants and institutions nationwide. PCG partnered with Coastal Enterprises, Inc. a Maine-based non-profit whose mission is to create economically and environmentally healthy communities, to provide the $250,000 loan to Sea to Table.
Sea to Table seeks out sustainably managed and harvested fisheries needing better access to markets, providing a direct connection between fishermen and chefs. By directly connecting fishermen to the market, Sea to Table not only creates value for chefs, but also for fishermen and traditional fishing cultures. Sea to Table has committed to paying suppliers above market prices (averaging 20% above market price) for the sustainably caught fish. “Our goal has always been to put sustainable fish on the plates of more consumers and to support fishing communities while doing it,” said Sean Dimin, co-founder of Sea to Table, along with his father, Michael. “We’re excited to have the support of these two prestigious lending partners in that mission."
PCG is particularly excited by Sea to Table’s model of working directly with independent fishermen, creating better markets for their catch. “Sea to Table’s work is important as an innovative model for promoting economic justice for family fisheries,” said Jeannine Jacokes, Partners for the Common Good CEO. “It expands the market opportunities and keeps more income in working-class fishing communities.”
For Coastal Enterprises, the loan continues the institution’s history of supporting the local fishing industry. “Our first loan in 1978 was in support of the Maine fishery, and we’ve invested significantly since then in businesses that impact the working waterfront,” said Ron Phillips, President of CEI. “We are delighted to have expanded our reach to Sea to Table, where scale and impact can create even more opportunity.”
PCG’s loan of $125,000 helped Sea to Table purchase approximately 35,000 lbs of salmon from Bristol Bay, Alaska. This working capital loan will help Sea to Table continue to grow, improving the lives of fishermen and traditional fishing communities across the country.
Contact information:
Kristin Faust
Chief Credit Officer
Partners for the Common Good
faustk@pcgloanfund.org
(202) 689-8935
Sean Dimin
Director
Sea to Table
sean@sea2table.com
(718) 360-4930
Sea to Table
www.sea2table.com
Sea to Table works with local fishermen from small-scale sustainable wild fisheries, finding better markets for their catch. Fresh-landed fish is packed at the point of catch and shipped overnight to restaurants across the country, a model that allows consumers to know the ‘who, what, how’ of the seafood they purchase. By directly connecting fishermen to the market, Sea to Table creates value not only for chefs, but also for fishermen, fisheries, and fishing cultures.
Partners for the Common Good
www.pcgloanfund.org
PCG enables socially responsible investors to channel their money into organizations working to serve communities left out of the economic mainstream. PCG is a non-profit community development loan fund and certified Community Development Financial Institution, operating as the first wholesale loan participation network in the industry. Partners for the Common Good lends money to non-profit organizations and for-profit, mission driven organizations that promote affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, entrepreneurship, and healthy communities in the United States and abroad.
Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
www.ceimaine.org
CEI is an expert in rural business funding, development and financing. A private, non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) based in Wiscasset, Maine, CEI was founded in 1977 to support job-creating natural resources and small business ventures in rural regions of Maine, and has grown to serve business funding all of Maine, its primary market, in New England and nationally. CEI does its work by lending to and investing in small and medium sized businesses, and providing business consulting services to those who need them.
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