Healthy Food Financing Initiative

Inadequate access to fresh foods makes healthy eating more difficult and less affordable for families. Bad food makes for bad economics as well. Communities without full-service grocery retailers have been shown to lose out on the benefits these businesses can bring: steady jobs, decent wages, and foot traffic that promotes additional commercial activity.

In response to these conditions, TRF collaborated with The Food Trust and PolicyLink to bring awareness to the issue of limited food access in so many communities across America. Building from the success of Pennsylvania’s Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI), the three organizations have been working closely with the White House and Congress to create a national version of the program. 

Pennsylvania’s FFFI began in 2004 as an innovative program aimed at increasing the number of supermarkets and grocery stores in underserved communities across the state. Recognizing that investing in quality food markets in needy communities can directly lead to job and economic growth, Pennsylvania seeded the program with $30 million, which TRF matched with nearly $120 million in private and public funds. Taking cues from the proven success of FFFI, TRF has continued to work with policymakers and advocates, pushing for a smart, sustainable way to invest in food access in low-income neighborhoods nationwide.

 TRF’s work with the Food Trust and PolicyLink to develop a national Healthy Food Financing Initiative has already garnered much acclaim. President Barack Obama recently proposed $345 million in appropriations for the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of The Treasury to support a national HFFI in his 2011 fiscal year budget. Designed to finance supermarkets interested in operating in distressed communities, the funding would support infrastructure costs and credit needs that are often unmet by conventional capital sources. The initiative would help new supermarkets get off the ground and existing ones to improve efficiency and lower costs.  In addition, in February 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move campaign to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity.  HFFI is one of the four pillars of Let’s Move!

Our campaign for a national HFFI continues to gain momentum.  Congress is working on legislation that will include federal funding  and other incentives to attract grocery stores to communities where residents  have inadequate access to nutritious  foods at affordable prices.  Several states and cities have already adopted similar legislation and initiated replications of FFFI. More than 50 organizations, representing a diverse set of stakeholders have voiced their support for HFFI, including the Food Marketing Institute, the National Grocer’s Association, LISC, Opportunity Finance Network, Children’s Defense Fund, the NAACP, the Food Research and Action Center, the American Public Health Association, and the United Food and Commercial Workers. 

Join this growing movement. Click here to show your support for HFFI.