• Home
  • Business Development

WEBINAR-Funding Your Healthy Food Project with USDA Resources

Overview

As a nation, we must foster a food system that ensures urban and rural communities have access to fresh and healthy foods; small and mid-size farmers can produce and market food in an economically and sustainable manner; and consumers have the resources they need to live healthy and productive lives.
 
This webinar introduces the audience to several programs at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and provide examples of how USDA funding is being tapped to improve access to healthy foods and support local food system development in low-income urban communities.

Moving From Policy to Implementation: A Methodology and Lessons Learned to Determine Eligibility for Healthy Food Financing Projects

Overview

This article outlines a methodology to establish eligibility for healthy food financing programs by describing the work of The Food Trust to coadminister programs in 3 distinct regions. To determine program eligibility, qualitative assessments of community fit are needed and national data sources must be locally verified. Our findings have broad implications for programs that assess need to allocate limited public/private financing resources.

A Healthier Future for Miami-Dade County: Expanding Supermarket Access in Areas of Need

Overview

This report documents the uneven distribution of supermarket access throughout Miami-Dade County and identifies areas in greatest need of healthy food retail development.The lack of supermarket access and increased incidence of diet-relateddiseases in lower-income neighborhoods suggest the need for incentiveprograms and policies to support healthy food retail development inunderserved areas.

Understanding the Role of Community Development Finance in Improving Access to Healthy Food

Overview

Describes the role CDFIs play in financing healthy food retail and identifies how public health practitioners can partner with CDFIs to expand access to fresh, healthy food. CDFIs offer an alternative to conventional lending for financing supermarkets and other small businesses. The flexibility they provide in financing projects can help retailers offset the higher cost of opening stores in underserved areas.

Healthier Corner Stores

Overview

Corner stores—often thought of as a source of unhealthy foods—can be key partners in the effort to improve access to healthy, affordable foods. In Philadelphia alone, a network of 660 corner stores committed to healthy change has introduced 25,000 healthier products to store shelves, making it easier for families in lower-income communities to eat a healthy diet.

Stimulating Supermarket Development in Bi-State Kansas City

Overview

Too many residents of bi-state Kansas City lack sufficient access to healthy, affordable food. Despite being in the heart of one of the richest agricultural regions in the nation, bi-state Kansas City is home to many communities without supermarkets, grocery stores and other retailers of healthy food. Limited access to nutritious food is an issue in specific neighborhoods, such as Douglas Sumner in Kansas City, Kansas, and Ivanhoe and Marlborough in Kansas City, Missouri. To address these concerns, the Kansas City Grocery Access Task Force was convened by KC Healthy Kids, IFF and The Food Trust. The task force is a cohort of leaders from the grocery industry, state and local governments, as well as the community and economic development, public health and civic sectors. The task force developed nine recommendations for state and local public policies that will improve the availability of healthy, affordable food in underserved areas through the development of supermarkets and grocery stores.

WEBINAR-New Markets Tax Credit

Overview

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program incentivizes private investment in low-income communities by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their federal income tax return in exchange for making equity investments in specialized financial institutions called Community Development Entities (CDEs). The NMTC program has a proven track record in expanding access to healthy foods by encouraging private sector investment in underserved communities. This webinar serves as an introduction to a complex financing tool and explores some examples of how NMTCs are being used to finance a variety of projects designed to improve access to healthy foods.

Food Hub Business Assessment Toolkit

Overview

Whether you are an investor or lender considering investing in a food hub, a food hub operator undertaking business planning, or a policymaker looking to better understand the food hub sector, Wholesome Wave’s Food Hub Business Assessment Toolkit provides you with the tools to evaluate a food hub business’ readiness for investment. The Toolkit provides a framework for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of food hubs in the areas of business model and strategy, impact potential, market overview, marketing and sales, operations, organization and management, risk mitigation, technology and systems, and finance.

WEBINAR-Healthy Food Financing: From Advocacy to Implementation

Overview

Across the country local stakeholders are adopting methods and strategies to improve access to healthy foods by advocating for policy change. This webinar uses The Food Trust’s recently published Healthy Food Financing Handbook: From Advocacy to Implementation to discuss how these efforts have led to the creation of healthy food financing initiatives at the city, state and federal level. This webinar offers a roadmap for how to successfully advocate for initiatives that improve access to healthy food through the development of healthy food retail. Additionally, the webinar provides an overview of how healthy food financing initiatives are administered by government agencies, community development financial institutions, and food access organizations. 

WEBINAR-Baltimore: A Healthy Food Access Case Study

Overview

Officials in cities across the nation are launching their own healthy food policy initiatives designed to bring healthier food options into their communities. Baltimore offers an important example of a city that has successfully implemented an inter-governmental initiative to increase access to healthy and affordable foods in underserved neighborhoods. This webinar offers an in-depth exploration of Baltimore’s healthy food retail programs and accomplishments including its virtual supermarket program, the financing of two recent healthy food markets, and a just released study mapping food quality in Baltimore food markets.

Pages