Deadline: 12/7/21
Amount: $20,000-$200,000
Website: https://www.investinginfood.com/grant-opportunities/
Description:
The purpose of America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) is to improve access to healthy food in underserved areas, to create and preserve quality jobs, and to revitalize low-income communities by providing financial and technical assistance to eligible fresh, healthy food retailers and enterprises to overcome the higher costs and initial barriers to entry in underserved areas. The Targeted Small Grants (TSG) program more specifically supports innovative fresh food retail and food system enterprises that seek to improve access to healthy food in underserved areas through food retail. Grants could assist projects with a variety of aspects of project development, renovation, and/or expansion.
In conjunction with the TSG program, technical assistance will also be offered to support selected early-stage projects where resources have the potential to help advance local capacity in order to successfully develop a food retail outlet OR to help further build on an existing enterprise. Technical assistance resources may include support with capacity building, identification of food access needs and potential interventions, project planning, market studies, feasibility studies, business planning, financial modeling, appraisals, and community or customer engagement.
Eligible applicants:
- For-profit business enterprises (including a corporation, limited liability company, sole proprietor, public benefit corporation)
- Cooperatively-owned businesses
- Tax-exempt nonprofit corporations
- Institutions of higher education
- State and local governments and governmental agencies, authorities, commissions and food policy councils
- Tribal governments and tribal governmental agencies, authorities, and food policy councils
Applicants must propose a project in an eligible underserved area in order to be eligible for the program. Projects in underserved urban and rural areas are eligible. Underserved areas means a community that has:
(I) limited access to affordable, healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, in grocery retail stores or farmer-to-consumer direct markets; and
(II) a high rate of hunger or food insecurity or a high poverty rate.
PROGRAM CONTACT
Molly Hartman, Program Director of Healthy Food Financing Initiative
Olivia Chatman, Program Associate of Food Initiatives
Reinvestment Fund, Attn: Healthy Food Financing Initiative
1700 Market Street, 19th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215)-574-5862—Please leave a voicemail if the phone line isn’t answered. Someone will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible.