A statewide public-private financing program administered by The Food Trust, PAFFFI 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) 11/01/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (PA FFFI) is a statewide public-private financing program that invests in new or expanding grocery stores and other healthy food retail outlets in communities throughout Pennsylvania. The PA FFFI provides one-time grants and loans to food retailers in order to increase access to healthy, affordable grocery food options and to improve economic opportunities for under-resourced communities across the commonwealth.
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.
Overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), the PA FFFI is administered by The Food Trust in partnership with Pennsylvania-based community development financial institutions (CDFIs).
Funding Information
Most projects qualify for up to $50,000 in funding, and high-impact projects can qualify for up to $150,000.
Eligible Use of Funds
An eligible use for financing includes any of the following:
- Predevelopment costs
- Land assembly, including demolition and environmental remediation
- Site development
- Business/technical assistance
- Land acquisition
- Infrastructure improvement, including renovation, new construction or adaptive reuse
- Equipment purchases that improve the availability and quality of store offerings
- Marketing or innovative food access technology that assists the healthy food access efforts of an existing or new grocery store
In order to be considered for funding, projects MUST:
- Improve food access for low- to moderate-income shoppers in places where there is not currently adequate access
- Sell a variety of affordable, high quality fresh produce, or a combination of fresh produce and other healthy grocery items, such as whole grains, dairy, fresh meat and other proteins.
- Accept or demonstrate plans to accept SNAP and/or WIC to the maximum extent possible (or have connection to retailers that will accept them)
- Demonstrate a path to profitability/financial sustainability
- Apply with a defined location, service area, or customer base
- Operate and provide service in Pennsylvania
- Demonstrate strong engagement and support from local residents and a commitment to providing a positive economic and social impact to the local community.
- Include an experienced manager on the team, with experience managing a similar healthy food project
- Serve customers that live in a low-to moderate-income (LMI) area, by locating in an LMI census tract or demonstrating that a significant number of customers reside in LMI areas
Prioritization will be given to projects that:
- Are located in historically disinvested or economically depressed areas of Pennsylvania
- Are new or expanding grocery stores or other healthy food retail outlets
- Have a demonstrated history of including local communities and customers into its operations and business development
- Source and sell food that is grown, raised, or harvested in Pennsylvania
- Hire employees from the surrounding neighborhoods
- Pay living wages (Please refer to the MIT Living Wage Calculator for your region)
- 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
- 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
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants may be for-profit, nonprofit, or cooperative entities. Eligible projects include the development, renovation and expansion of:
- Grocery stores, supermarkets, corner stores/bodegas, food hubs, mobile markets, co-ops, farmers markets, and food aggregation, processing centers or wholesalers/distributors with a direct connection to direct-to-consumer retail outlets.
For more information, visit The Food Trust.
