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View Policy Efforts by State

At every level—local, regional, state, and federal—community residents, practitioners, business owners, advocates, and policymakers are coming together to find innovative solutions to strengthen access to healthy food.

Click on a state below to learn more about state and local policy initiatives as well as state-specific projects supported by federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) grants. Check out the Find Money & Policy Efforts by State tool to view this information as well as funding opportunities.

Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) refers to a policy model at the local, state, or federal level, that aims to provide financing for healthy food projects. These policies improve access to healthy foods in low-income and underserved areas, create and preserve quality jobs, and revitalize communities by providing loans and grants to eligible fresh, healthy food projects. Projects can include grocery stores, farmers markets, food hubs, co-ops, and other businesses that sell healthy food. This financing allows retailers to overcome the high monetary barriers to entry in low-income urban, suburban, and rural areas that are underserved by healthy food retail. For more information about HFFI programs across the country, view the HFFI Brochure and the HFFI Impacts Report.

Federal Initiatives

In 2009, PolicyLink, The Food Trust, and Reinvestment Fund launched a national campaign with partners and stakeholders from across the country: to create a comprehensive federal response to address the limited and inequitable access to healthy foods in low-income communities in both rural and urban America. By lifting up the important impacts of the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, the effort resulted in the launch of the federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) program in 2011 by the U.S. Departments of Treasury (through the CDFI Fund), Agriculture, and Health and Human Services. The program offers one-time grants and loans to urban, tribal, and rural communities. HFFI grants have supported more than 100 organizations in more than 35 different states to implement a wide range of healthy food projects that are designed to meet locally determined community needs and priorities. Learn more about HFFI here and the federal HFFI grantees here. Read these fact sheets to learn more about HFFI and other healthy food access funding opportunities at the Community Economic Development (CED) at HHS and the CDFI Fund.

 

State and Local Initiatives

Across the country, state, and local governments are enacting legislation and policies similar to the federal HFFI program to support healthy food retail projects, revitalize communities and improve access to healthy food in low-income underserved communities. In many places, the federal and state programs work together to complement and enhance healthy food access in a region. Check out this overview of Healthy Food Financing Programs Across the Country. Click on a state below or use the Find Money & Policy Efforts by State tool to find information about state and local policy efforts.