STAKEHOLDER ANNOUNCEMENT
USDA Now Accepting Applications for New Program to Increase Access to Healthy Foods in Underserved Communities
Funding Inquiry Forms are Due Monday, Oct. 14
BANGOR, Maine, September 9, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Reinvestment Fund are now accepting applications for the Food Access and Retail Expansion (FARE) Fund, a new program under the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). The 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 grocery stores. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack first announced the program in June and the application window opened on September 6, 2024.
Eligible organizations include food retailers and food retail suppliers. To apply, organizations must first submit a funding inquiry form to Reinvestment Fund. Funding inquiries are accepted on a rolling basis and loan and technical assistance will be offered on a rolling basis. To be considered for the first round of grant funding, inquiry forms must be received by Monday, Oct. 14.
Funding inquiries must demonstrate how projects will help create, expand, or retain a food retail or food enterprise business model. They must also show how projects will increase access to staple and perishable foods.
Organizations with eligible projects will be invited to apply for funding to implement healthy food projects. Available funding includes:
- Loans ranging from $500,000 to $5 million to support predevelopment, land acquisition, renovations and/or equipment purchases.
- Grants up to $250,000 to support project management, equipment purchases and/or construction.
- Financing for technical assistance to support market and feasibility studies, business planning and store design for projects in their early stages.
Stakeholders and potential applicants are invited to attend the following webinars to learn more about the program. Recordings will be uploaded to www.investinginfood.com.
For more information about the program, visit the Request for Applications.
To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit GovDelivery subscriber page.
Background:
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.
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.
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.
In April, USDA Rural Development Maine State Director Rhiannon 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.
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