Grant amount: Up to a total of $30,000,000 is available. Grants to applicants will range from $200,000 to $3,000,000 depending on the type of activities proposed.
America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a program administered by Reinvestment Fund on behalf of USDA Rural Development, works to improve access to fresh, healthy foods in underserved rural and urban areas. HFFI’s new Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program will support public-private partnerships to establish and grow local, regional, or state food financing programs that provide financial and technical assistance to healthy food retailers (grocery and other markets) and food enterprises (food retail supply chain businesses).
Grants will provide support for operating expenses (capacity building activities) and to help deploy loans and other financial assistance (credit enhancement activities). Eligible applicants include regional, state, or local public-private partnerships of two or more entities that are organized to improve access to fresh, healthy foods and provide financial and technical assistance to eligible projects.