Glynn Lloyd has been a pioneer in the field of transformative urban economic development for over 25 years. He is the President and Founder of City Fresh Foods and is currently the Executive Director of the Business Equity Initiative (BEI), a new Initiative originating out of the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation. BEI is focused on growing enterprises of color and catalyzing community transformative development as means of addressing wealth and income disparities in Eastern MA.
In 1990, after graduating from Boston University, he became one of the inaugural members of Teach for America, teaching 5th grade in Louisiana. Upon returning to Boston, he decided to pursue an innovative approach to community economic development by creating community owned and operated enterprises. Glynn founded City Fresh Foods Inc., a nationally-renowned food service business, and over 20 years grew it on average 15% annually to $9M in revenue.
City Fresh Foods pioneers ethnic meals to homebound elders and healthier meals to school age children, and was one of the first companies to receive Social Venture Capital, eventually returning a healthy multiple to its investors. Under Glynn’s leadership, City Fresh raised hundreds of thousands of investment capital, twice expanded its production capability to larger facilities, practiced open book management, and introduced fresh local ingredients from area farms into its supply chain.
Glynn played a pioneering role in the local foods systems movement by catalyzing Article 89, a recently passed Boston zoning law amendment that allows urban farmers to grow for the market as a right. To help institutionalize these practices, Glynn founded the Urban Farming institute, a community-led nonprofit supporting the development of the new urban farming industry in Massachusetts.
Glynn has extensive experience assisting some of region’s prominent nonprofits, including the transition of Commonwealth Kitchen to new leadership. Additionally, he continues to counsel many incubator businesses in the Commonwealth Kitchen on their capital and growth strategies, while also advising the leadership of their value-added commissary strategy. As previous board chair of Sportsmen’s Tennis Club, Glynn assisted in the transition of leadership at both the board and management level, at a critical time of this African-American led community institution’s life cycle. He was also selected and appointed by Governor Deval Patrick to serve as a Trustee for Roxbury Community College, as part of the college’s pivot into its best possible future. Most recently, he helped found the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, a coalition of black business, community, religious and labor leaders working together to improve economic indicators in the Black community.
Glynn currently resides in Roxbury with his partner Sara and two daughters Grace and Ayana.
