IFF
IFF used HFFI financing to establish the Healthy Food Access Program to finance both forprofit and nonprofit grocery stores in areas without access to fresh and healthy food. To date, IFF’s HFFI eligible investments have resulted in the creation over 147,000 ft2 of real estate acquired and/or rehabbed in 9 USDA food deserts in IL, IA, IN, WI, and MO. IFF has developed a unique fresh food financing program to provide essential capital to support the development of retail grocery stores in low-access areas to meet a broad spectrum of financing needs for grocery store developers and operators. In the past year, IFF has also provided HFFI financing to nonprofits, such as a school and health museum, to support these organizations efforts to promote healthy eating/fresh food through education, outreach, and programming through a demonstration kitchen and a farmers market exhibition. IFF’s HFFI financing activities and projects have advanced broader place-based strategies including the Chicago Housing Authority’s Plan for Transformation’s Oakwood Shores redevelopment (Bronzeville Mariano’s). Given the high rates of diet related disease and obesity in the low-income communities that IFF serves, a core element of IFF program design is to require grocers to lead and/or support local efforts to promote healthy eating and lifestyle habits. IFF projects in Illinois have helped renovate or open grocery stores such as Saver's Fresh Market Roseland, Lena’s Food Market, Pogue’s Run Grocer, IRE-Foods, and Pershing King Drive LLC. You can find more information here.
Source of money: HFFI CDFI-Financial Assistance Program
Note: IFF is a CDFI headquartered in Illinois that is using HFFI financing in Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin.