USDA Rural Development to Help Finance
Healthy Food Projects
in Areas Underserved by Grocery Stores
New program will fund
food retail and supply chain projects
with loans, grants, and hands-on support.
BANGOR, Maine, June 28, 2024 – USDA and Reinvestment Fund are launching a program under the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) to increase access to healthy foods in communities underserved by grocery stores. The new Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (FARE Fund) will offer loans and grants to eligible organizations over the next five years. There will be a total of $60 million available for food retail and food retail supply chain projects that increase access to healthy food in communities underserved by retail groceries.
“People across Maine deserve fresh, healthy and affordable foods,” USDA Rural Development Maine State Director Rhiannon Hampson said. “Rural Development is proud to support the work of the many organizations, agencies, farms, and businesses that make equitable food access a priority in Maine every day. Our new FARE Fund will help by increasing access to diverse foods in rural areas and benefitting local farmers and food producers. I encourage Maine organizations to reach out early to explore whether their projects will be eligible for funding so they can apply promptly when the FARE Fund begins accepting proposals.”
Once fully operational, the initiative will offer grants of up to $250K to implement healthy food projects. Grants may be used to support project management, equipment purchases, and construction. Loans ranging from $500K to $5M will be available to support predevelopment, land acquisition, renovations, and equipment purchases. The program also will offer funding to support market and feasibility studies, business planning, and store design.
In April Director Hampson announced an HFFI grant of $2.8M to help build food system financing capacity in Maine. That award went to Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) to build the infrastructure of a new food system investment fund. USDA previously awarded HFFI grants in Maine in 2022 to the Cooperative Development Institute in Lewiston, Land and Furrow LLC (affiliated with Maine Grains) in Skowhegan, and Good Tern Co-op in Rockland. Together those projects received a total of $536K.
Eligible organizations include food retailers and food retail suppliers. The program is not yet accepting applications. Entities with potentially eligible projects can check for eligibility now and sign up to be notified when the program begins accepting applications at: www.investinginfood.com/fare-fund
Background
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the new initiative at the National Rural Grocer’s Summit June 24, 2024. The FARE Fund is an expansion of HFFI administered by the Reinvestment Fund on behalf of USDA Rural Development. Through HFFI, USDA partners with Reinvestment Fund to bring healthy food options to underserved rural, urban, and Tribal communities.
Reinvestment Fund serves as the National Fund Manager for USDA. It raises capital; provides financial and technical assistance to regional, state, and local partnerships; and helps fund projects to improve access to fresh, healthy foods in underserved areas.
To date, HFFI has awarded over $25 million directly to food retail and food enterprise projects in 48 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Additionally, over $40 million has been awarded to support 16 new and existing regional, state, and local food financing programs through the HFFI Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program.
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