Focus Area
Equitable Food Systems
The food system is a complex network of interconnected activities and sectors that grow, manufacture, transport, sell, prepare and dispose of food. It encompasses a great variety of enterprises with varying capacities and financing needs. However, the current food system doesn’t work for all communities.
Our Approach
Reinvestment Fund is committed to building a more equitable, sustainable and inclusive food system. Since 2004, Reinvestment Fund has pioneered a comprehensive approach to strengthening food systems to improve access to healthy food and economic opportunity in the food sector for underserved communities. Through a range of programs, we provide grants, loans, and technical assistance resources aiming to support community-driven solutions.
Our Food Systems Values
- Food Access — We believe all communities should have equitable access to quality, affordable and nutritious food.
- Food Security — We believe food is a human right and all people should have reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.
- Inclusive Economy — We believe that entrepreneurs and communities should have equitable access to markets, resources, and capital to participate in a robust, local and sustainable food businesses.
Our Financing
Our financing supports enterprises that contribute to a balanced and dynamic food system. With over $300 million invested in food projects to date, we finance projects ranging from production and retail to food banks and child nutrition. Reinvestment Fund provides financing for predevelopment, construction, and permanent loans. Financing can be used to build or expand facilities, increase healthy food options, bridge capital gaps and purchase new equipment.
Our Grants and Capacity Building Programs
Reinvestment Fund is committed to building a more equitable, sustainable and inclusive food system. We use capital and technical assistance resources to increase food access, reduce food insecurity and improve opportunities for all communities to lead healthy, vibrant lives.
- America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative: Created by the 2014 Farm Bill, America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative is a public-private partnership administered by Reinvestment Fund on behalf of USDA Rural Development to improve access to healthy food in underserved areas. HFFI provides resources to fresh, healthy food retailers and food retail supply chain enterprises to overcome the higher costs and initial barriers to entry in underserved areas.
- Philadelphia Food Justice Initiative: A partnership with The Philadelphia Department of Public Health, the Philadelphia Food Justice Initiative supports community-driven projects advancing food justice and insuring communities can exercise their right to grow, sell and eat healthy food. The initiative supports a variety of food justice projects including urban agriculture, cultural culinary heritage, and start-up food enterprises in the city of Philadelphia.
- New Jersey Innovative Healthy Food Retail Initiative: The New Jersey Innovative Healthy Food Retail Initiative (“the Initiative”) supports community-led, innovative food retail projects that improve access to healthy food and promote economic growth in low-income, underserved areas of New Jersey. The Initiative is co-administered by Reinvestment Fund and The Food Trust and is funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- Child Nutrition Funds: Reinvestment Fund offers capital and planning resources that aim to increase access to healthy, nutritious meals for children from vulnerable populations. The programs offer support to federal nutrition program sponsors, sites and meal vendors to expand the availability of fresh and nutritious food to children.
Our Research and Analysis
Reinvestment Fund is committed to understanding the barriers to equitable healthy food access and building a knowledge base that helps inform solutions and target resources. With a dozen studies on topics related to food, including access, financing mechanisms, program design, and food systems, Reinvestment Fund has produced a comprehensive body of research and gained national recognition. We seek opportunities to partner with government, philanthropy, and industry to further collective knowledge about food system opportunities and gaps.
- Limited Supermarket Analysis: For over a decade, Reinvestment Fund’s Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) Analysis has guided strategic decision-making to increase access to fresh foods for residents living in places with inadequate and inequitable access to grocery stores. First developed for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund in 2010, the LSA analysis looks at such criteria as income, distance to existing stores and car ownership rates to identify places where households have inadequate and inequitable access to supermarkets.
Field Building
For over a decade, we have worked with policymakers and advocates recommending smart, sustainable ways to invest in food systems and local economies nationwide. Partnering with other food lenders across the country we convene the Food Lenders Network (FLN) to share ideas and best practices to build robust and equitable food systems. FLN helps to expand the capacity and extend the geography served by healthy food financing programs. It includes over 20 mission-driven lenders serving food businesses along the supply chain in both urban and rural communities
