Divert secures $90M for wasted food facility

Nuveen, a Chicago-based financial planning firm, and Divert Inc., a West Concord, Massachusetts-based circular economy company that aims to prevent food waste, have announced significant financing through Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit to scale infrastructure advancing food system circularity in the southeast U.S.

Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit is a part of the $1.3 trillion asset manager of TIAA, and its investment includes more than $90 million to fund the development of Divert’s Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Lexington, North Carolina, one of 30 facilities the company intends to develop nationwide to address the wasted food crisis.

“Divert’s impressive growth and proven record of operational excellence are aligned with Nuveen’s commitment to investing in businesses that solve major societal challenges, such as food waste, while also addressing growing energy demand,” says Don Dimitrievich, head of Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit. “We look forward to building a long-term relationship with Divert as the company continues to lead the industry and scale its solutions.”

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Divert says it is advancing circularity through its nationwide infrastructure buildout. The company’s end-to-end solution leverages actionable data to prevent wasted food and facilitates edible food recovery to feed people in need, it says. Divert’s proprietary depackaging and anaerobic digestion process also transforms unsold food products into beneficial products–carbon-negative renewable energy and soil amendment, returning nutrients back to the earth to support further food growth.

“With Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit’s investment, we are well-positioned to scale our infrastructure and meet the growing demand for our circular solutions,” Divert co-founder and CEO Ryan Begin says. “Our Lexington facility will address a critical need for food diversion and infrastructure in the southeast U.S., while also turning unsold food products into new resources that allow us to recoup the value of that food.”

The Lexington facility builds on Divert’s growing momentum nationwide. The company processed more than 630 million pounds of unsold and non-donatable food in 2024 and opened its first integrated facility in Turlock, California, with additional facilities under rapid development across the country with the goal to be within 100 miles of 80 percent of the population.