The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI), a statewide financing program, was designed to attract supermarkets and grocery stores to underserved urban and rural communities. The program, which began in 2004, ended six years later when all of its funds were deployed.
The objectives of the program were to:
Developed as a public-private partnership, FFFI served the financing needs of operators in communities where infrastructure costs and credit needs were not met by conventional financial institutions. The initiative used market analysis, leveraged capital, and public policy to stimulate supermarket development and increase the availability of fresh food in low-income neighborhoods.
FFFI was a partnership of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Reinvestment Fund, The Food Trust and the Urban Affairs Coalition. Reinvestment Fund was the administrator of the program.
The State seeded the program with a $30 million grant, which Reinvestment Fund leveraged with $145 million in additional investment to provide loans and grants for predevelopment, acquisition, equipment and construction costs, as well as for start-up costs such as employee recruitment and training.
FFFI attracted 206 applications from across Pennsylvania, with 88 projects financed as of June 2010. In total, more than $73.2 million in loans and $12.1 million in grants were approved. Projects approved for financing were expected to bring 5,023 jobs and 1.67 million square feet of commercial space.
FFFI was hailed for its flexibility and ability to serve a diverse constituency. Projects financed through FFFI ranged in size from large, full-service supermarkets in urban neighborhoods to small grocery stores in rural areas. To inform the program and any replication efforts, four evaluations are currently underway or have been completed for FFFI.
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Reinvestment Fund announces a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Pre-Qualified Technical Energy Service Providers to expand our capacity in clean energy and energy efficiency projects. This effort aligns with our current work to expand our clean energy lending portfolio and broader sustainability impacts.