Healthy Food Financing Initiative

America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) is a USDA-supported program, administered by Reinvestment Fund, that provides grants, loans, and technical assistance to improve access to fresh, healthy, affordable food in underserved urban and rural communities. For the 2026 cycle, HFFI offers three funding opportunities: the 2026 FARE Fund Grants & TA (grants of $20,000-$250,000 for planning and implementation projects, plus technical assistance of up to $75,000 per project for early-stage planning, predevelopment, and business assistance soft costs); the 2026-2028 FARE Fund Loans (loans of $500,000-$3,000,000, with loans over $3 million up to $5 million considered case-by-case); and the 2026 Partnerships Program (the HFFI Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program), which makes $20 million available in grants to public-private partnerships implementing Food Financing Programs in underserved communities. Visit www.investinginfood.com for details, eligibility, and deadlines for each opportunity.

For-profit businesses, cooperative businesses, nonprofit organizations, and state, local, and tribal governments and governmental agencies will be eligible to apply.

The program will support projects aiming to strengthen, expand, and innovate within the food retail supply chain. The program could assist a variety of organizations, business models, and capital needs of ventures that process, distribute, aggregate, market, and sell healthy, fresh, and affordable foods to underserved communities and markets. Projects must demonstrate how their proposed project will contribute to food access through the availability of staple and perishable foods for retail sale.

To be eligible for assistance, applicants must propose a project that:

1. Plans to expand or preserve the availability of staple and perishable foods in underserved areas with low and moderate-income populations; and

2. If the project involves retail sales, accepts benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 USC 2011 et. Seq.)

To be eligible for financial or technical assistance through America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative, applicants must propose a project in an underserved area. Use the interactive map on this page to determine if your project’s proposed location qualifies as underserved.

See the most recent Request For Applications for instructions on how to apply.

• RFA Info Session Webinar- Recording

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Online Grants Portal Registration and Application Guide