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Credit Unions Help Farmers Replenish Food Deserts

Learn how credit unions mitigate ag lending risks while supporting underserved communities.

By Michelle A. Samaad | Updated on May 12, 2014
Helen Godfrey Smith (left), president/CEO of Shreveport Federal Credit Union, stands with member Frank Wilbourn. He recently opened a farmer’s market in Marks, Miss., with the help of a credit union microloan.

Rows of fresh turnips, okra and watermelons were the images Helen Godfrey Smith had in mind when she visualized the rich, farm land throughout the Mississippi Delta region.

“While the Delta has been a vibrant community that’s not the case anymore,” said Godfrey Smith, president/CEO of the $102 million Shreveport Federal Credit Union in Shreveport, La. “What’s happening is casinos are moving in, the older people who have farms – the younger people are just not interested in farming. With that in mind, we began to look at what we can do.”

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