CDFIs and Healthy Food Financing
As we enter the height of the summer, we also enter the peak of the growing season for farmers across the country. Here in Chicago we are lucky to have numerous farmers markets and food retail outlets that offer easy access to all of the fresh produce the season has to offer, but it is all too easy to forget that there are many communities within our own city and across the country where accessing affordable and healthy food options can be a struggle throughout the year.
In recent years, the goal of equitable food access has become an important federal policy issue as more studies have demonstrated that the lack of access to food retail outlets can act as a barrier to accessing healthy food options. Additionally, studies have shown that this lack of access to food retail outlets and healthy food options disproportionately affects rural, minority, and low-income communities.
In an effort to address the issue of healthy food access, the federal government launched the interagency Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) in 2010 that “supports projects that increase access to healthy, affordable food in communities that currently lack these options,” and encompasses efforts by the USDA, HHS, and the CDFI Fund (Department of Treasury) to fund projects that increase the number of healthy food retailers in underserved communities.
CDFIs have the potential to play a vital role in expanding healthy food access by providing the capital necessary to get these projects off the ground, and there are a number of great resources available through the CDFI Fund to help your organization explore the opportunities for healthy food financing in your local community:
Healthy Food Financing Resources Bank: Last month the CDFI Fund wrapped up its year-long Financing Healthy Food Options training series and the CDFI Fund has made many of the workshop and webinar materials available on its website. The resource bank is a valuable resource that covers food financing issues along the entire food production chain. Additionally, the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) will be offering additional free webinars on healthy food financing topics through September.
Searching for Markets: The Geography of Inequitable Access to Healthy and Affordable Food: This recent report commissioned by the CDFI Fund’s Capacity Building Initiative discusses the potential for developing retail food outlets in Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) areas as well as the challenges in doing so. If your organization is interested in doing more healthy food financing, this report is a great resource for thinking more practically and strategically about deploying capital into areas with the greatest need for healthy food access as well as areas with the greatest potential to successfully support healthy food retail outlets.
HFFI Funding: Beginning in FY 2011, the CDFI Fund provided a separate round of Financial Assistance (FA) awards to certified CDFIs for the purposes of healthy food financing. An additional $22 million has been approved for the program in FY 2012, and $25 million has been requested for FY 2013. The CDFI Fund has also developed this comprehensive guide to other financial resources than can be used to help fund healthy food projects.
What kinds of healthy food financing projects is your organization working on? What are some of the challenges that you’ve encountered working on these projects? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments!