The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (PA FFFI) is a statewide public-private financing program administered by The Food Trust that helps business owners open or expand healthy grocery outlets in communities throughout the commonwealth.
Donor Name: The Food Trust
State: Pennsylvania
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 10/14/2022
Grant Size: up to $150,000
Details:
The FFFI program invests in new or expanding grocery stores and other healthy food retail outlets in communities throughout Pennsylvania.
The program provides one-time grants and loans to nonprofit, for-profit and cooperative food businesses that help increase access to healthy, affordable food and improve economic opportunities for low- to moderate-income residents of urban, suburban and rural areas of Pennsylvania.
Overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), the FFFI is administered by The Food Trust in partnership with three PA-based community development financial institutions (CDFIs): Reinvestment Fund, Community First Fund, and Bridgeway Capital.
Program Objectives
- contribute to better health outcomes by improving access to fresh foods;
- stimulate investment of private capital in low- to moderate-income communities;
- remove financing obstacles and operating barriers for grocery stores and other healthy food retail in lower-income communities;
- strengthen the local food system and increase market opportunities for PA farmers;
- support the creation and preservation of quality, living wage jobs; and
- create and retain a qualified workforce
Prioritization will be given to projects that:
- Promote supplier diversity and where possible, increase business opportunities for Minority Business Enterprises, Women Business Enterprises, Service-Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises, Veteran Business Enterprises, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Business Enterprises; and Disability-Owned Business Enterprises
- Hire employees from the surrounding neighborhoods
- Pay living wages
- Source and sell food from Pennsylvania farmers
- Provide customer access to business through means of public transportation, if available
- Align with existing plans and goals of the local government and community residents
- Have a demonstrated history of including local communities and customers into its operations and business development
Funding Information
Most projects qualify for up to $50,000 in funding, and high-impact projects can qualify for up to $150,000.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants may be for-profit, nonprofit, or cooperative entities. Eligible projects include the development, renovation and expansion of:
- Grocery stores, corner stores, convenience stores, neighborhood stores, bodegas, food hubs, mobile markets, co-ops, farmers markets, and food aggregation and processing centers with a direct connection to direct-to-consumer retail outlets
For more information, visit The Food Trust.
