Eligible: Agriculture, Businesses, Education, Local Government, Nonprofits, Tribes

Apply by Oct 14, 2024

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$20,000 - $250,000

America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (HFFI FARE Fund)

From U.S. Department of Agriculture

Over the next five years, the HFFI FARE Fund will provide $60 million in loans, grants and technical assistance to food retail and food retail supply chain projects. For the 2024-2025 funding cycle, at least $9,000,000 is available for implementation grants, at least $1,500,000 is available for technical assistance, and at least $16,000,000 is available for loans. The purpose of HFFI is to support food supply chain resiliency, improve access to healthy foods in underserved areas, create and preserve quality jobs, and revitalize low-income communities by providing financial and technical assistance, either directly or through other partners and intermediaries, to eligible fresh, healthy food retailers and enterprises to overcome the higher costs and initial barriers to entry in underserved areas.

  • Overview

    • Type

      Grant, Loan, Other

    • Title

      America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (HFFI FARE Fund)

    • Source

      U.S. Department of Agriculture

    • Federal or State

      Federal

    • Total Amount

      $9,000,000

    • Number of Awards

      36–60

    • Award Range

      $20,000 - $250,000

    • Cost Share

      No

    • Status

      Active

  • Eligibility

    • Audience

      Agriculture, Businesses, Education, Local Government, Nonprofits, Tribes

    • Sector

      Agriculture, Forestry & Land Management

    • Activity

      Equipment Purchase/Lease, Planning, Program Implementation, Project Finance, Research & Development, Technical Assistance

    • Eligibility

      Eligible applicants for loans include for-profit, nonprofit, and cooperatively owned businesses, and institutions of higher education. Applicants may include food retailers or non-retail food enterprises. Grants and loans will be available to eligible organizations in eligible underserved areas to implement a project that is designed to improve access to fresh, healthy food through food retail.

    • Location

      National

  • Application Process

    • Application Link

      investinginfood.com

    • Pre-Application?

      Yes

    • Requirements

      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, defined earlier in this RFA, 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.

    • Disbursement Method

      Other

  • Important Dates

    • Application Open Date

      Sep 6, 2024

    • Application Close Date

      Oct 14, 2024

  • Resources & Contacts

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