Healthy Food Financing Initiative

The Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) is an inter-Department initiative that is carried out by the U.S. Treasury through its CDFI fund, Health and Human Services' Community Economic Development Program, and USDA's Rural Development. The purpo

A National Fund Manager (NFM) designated by USDA will award grants and provide technical assistance. Grants will provide financial assistance to overcome higher costs and initial barriers to entry in underserved areas. Technical assistance will also be provided by the NFM to eligible projects. To receive either a grant or technical assistance, the project must include plans to expand or preserve the availability of staple and perishable foods in underserved areas with low- and moderate-income populations by maintaining or increasing the number of retail outlets that offer an assortment of perishable and staple foods in those areas. It must also accept or plan to accept benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

An applicant must be a Community Development Financial Institutions (CFDI) certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Department CDFI Fund. The applicant must have been in existence as of February 7, 2014 and still be in existence at the time of application.

Beneficiaries may be profit organizations (including corporations, limited liability companies, sole proprietors, public benefit corporations) and nonprofit organizations (including institutions of higher education; state and local governments and governmental agencies, authorities, and food policy councils; tribal governments and tribal governmental agencies, authorities, and food policy councils) and partnerships.

Applicants must describe their experience with projects associated with retail, regional food systems, and locally-grown foods as well as with projects that serve women- and minority-owned businesses. Applicants must also provide information on outreach and collaboration, financial condition, project management capacity, experience in rural areas, and how the program will be evaluated. The agency may require additional information at its discretion.

The National Fund Manager will provide grant funding and technical assistance. Grant funds will be available to beneficiaries to overcome the higher costs and initial barriers to entry in underserved urban, suburban, and rural areas. This flexible program will support innovations in fresh food retail and can assist retailers with a variety of aspects of store development and renovation processes, including predevelopment costs, energy efficiency upgrades, employee training, and security improvements aimed at providing a safe and welcoming shopping environment. All projects must accept, or plan to accept, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Technical assistance will be provided to selected projects for managerial, financial, or operational consultation, as well as for marketing and feasibility studies.

The award has already been made by the National Fund Manager.

An applicant must submit an application through Grants.gov using the requirements published in the NOFO.

Applications will first be reviewed for eligibility for funding. Applications determined to be eligible will be evaluated based on the criteria published in the NOFO.

Applications will be ranked based on the points scored for the evaluation criteria. The highest ranking applicant will be selected for funding.

Recipients can request an extension in writing up to 30 calendar days prior to the expiration of the period of performance. Extensions will only be approved in situations where circumstances beyond the control of the recipient prevented timely completion of project activities.

Applicants that were not approved may request an informal review or formal appeal within 30 days of receiving notification that the application was not approved.