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America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Food Access and Retail Expansion (FARE) Fund Grants and Technical Assistance is sponsored by USDA Rural Development (administered by Reinvestment Fund). This program offers grant funding for planning, implementation, and technical assistance projects related to food retail supply chain resiliency, access to healthy foods, employment, and low-income community revitalization.
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2024 - 2025 FARE Fund | America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative 2024 - 2025 FARE Fund | America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative 2024 Planning Grant Program 2023 Partnerships Program Due to delays caused by the Fall 2025 government shutdown, final award notifications for Implementation Grant and Technical Assistance applications will go out in early 2026. The RFA was amended on July 23, 2025.
See the summary table in the beginning of the RFA for changes. Download the Request for Applications (RFA) To be considered for a grant in Round 3 of the HFFI FARE Fund, Funding Inquiry forms must be received by August 18, 2025 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Any Inquiry Forms submitted after this date and time will not be considered.
Inquiry Forms submitted outside of the SmartSimple online grants portal will not be accepted. To be considered for Technical Assistance Funding Inquiry forms must be received by September 1, 2025 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Any Inquiry Forms submitted after this date and time will not be considered.
Loans will be considered on a rolling basis. Applicants will be contacted once their Funding Inquiry Form has been reviewed and, if eligible, will receive an invitation to submit a full application. Review time for Funding Inquiries will vary based on the volume of submissions.
2024 – 2025 FARE FUND KEY DATES SUBMIT A FUNDING INQUIRY FORM The HFFI Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (HFFI FARE Fund) is a new program under the expanded America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Over the next 5 years, the new program will provide $60 million in loans, grants, and technical assistance for the predevelopment, planning, and implementation of eligible food retail and food retail supply chain projects.
Competitive grants and technical assistance will be available for eligible food retail and food retail supply chain projects in the predevelopment and implementation stages. In the 2024-2025 funding cycle, at least $9,000,000 is available for implementation grants, at least $1,500,000 is available for technical assistance, and at least $16,000,000 is available for loans. Grant funds will be distributed through three rounds of funding.
Technical assistance and loans will be distributed on a rolling basis. Grant awards will be up to $250,000 for implementation and up to $100,000 for early-stage planning, predevelopment, and technical assistance. Loans to eligible projects may range between $500,000-$5,000,000.
Loans may be paired with technical assistance or a grant to strengthen the viability of the project. The HFFI FARE Fund 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.
Applicants must demonstrate how their proposed project will contribute to food access through the availability of an assortment of Staple and Perishable Foods for retail sale, either directly or as part of the retail supply chain.
Funding should build programmatic capacity, unlock additional sources of capital, catalyze project sustainability, meet financing gaps, and/or enable the next phase of project implementation for deeper impact or reach.
Funding is designed to support catalytic projects that aren’t able to access traditional financing and may be used for predevelopment activities, equipment, construction hard costs, acquisition of land or buildings, and other one-time soft costs such as community engagement and environmental assessment.
Eligible applicant entities include for-profit business enterprises (including a corporation, limited liability company, sole proprietor, public benefit corporation); cooperatively-owned businesses; tax-exempt nonprofit corporations; institutions of higher education ; state and local governments and governmental agencies, authorities, commissions and food policy councils ; tribal governments and tribal governmental agencies, authorities, and food policy councils.
Individuals are not eligible to apply to this opportunity. * State, local, and tribal governments are eligible for grants and technical assistance, but currently not for loans. Reinvestment Fund will host informational webinars to provide potential applicants with an overview of the RFA, the grant and loan application processes, information on how to navigate the online submission process, and to answer questions about the program.
No registration is required. To join each webinar, please use the following links in the webinar schedule below.
HFFI FARE Fund Overview : 2:00 PM Eastern Time on September 10, 2024 HFFI 2024 – 2025 FARE Fund Overview Webinar Recording HFFI 2024 – 2025 FARE Fund Overview Webinar Slides Grant and TA Overview : 1:00 PM Eastern Time on September 18, 2024 HFFI 2024 – 2025 FARE Fund Grant & TA Overview Webinar Recording HFFI 2024 – 2025 FARE Fund Grant & TA Overview Webinar Slides Loan Overview : 3:00 PM Eastern Time on September 25, 2024 HFFI 2024 – 2025 FARE Loan Overview Webinar Recording HFFI 2024 – 2025 FARE Fund Loan Overview Webinar Slides 2024-2025 HFFI FARE Fund Fact Sheet 2024-2025 HFFI FARE Fund Press Release Online Grants Portal (SmartSimple) Registration Guide
Key questions and narrative sections extracted from the solicitation.
Organization Overview and Background (250 words): Describe the applicant organization, ownership/management structure, size, relevant project partners, and experience relevant to the project.
Population, Community, and/or Market Served (500 words): Describe the critical elements and needs of the local food environment and community that would benefit from the proposed project.
Project Objectives, Activities, and Outcomes (750 words): Describe the overall project, community/market needs, goals, business model, revenue sources, project activities, timeline, and expected outcomes.
Need for and Use of Funds (500 words): Describe elements of the project for which you are seeking grant funding, why grant funding is needed, and what it will enable.
Project Impacts (250 words): Describe projected metrics of success such as revenue growth, leveraged capital, square footage created, jobs created/preserved, and sales revenue.
Project Timeline (500 words): Describe time needed to complete the project, overall timeline, and relevant factors influencing project timing and success.
Scoring criteria used to review proposals for this grant.
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Eligible organizations include for-profit business enterprises, cooperatively owned businesses, tax-exempt nonprofit corporations, institutions of higher education, state and local government and governmental agencies, …. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows expected award range: $20,000 - $250,000 for planning and implementation grants and up to $75,000 for TA. Estimated total program funding: $5,250,000 for planning and implementation grants and $1,000,000 for TA. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Applications for America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Food Access and Retail Expansion (FARE) Fund Grants and Technical Assistance are due July 31, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Food Access and Retail Expansion (FARE) Fund Grants and Technical Assistance is funded by USDA Rural Development (administered by Reinvestment Fund). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
The solicitation lists 8 required documents: Funding Inquiry Form via SmartSimple, SAM registration documentation, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), Legal status documentation (articles of incorporation or certificate of formation), 5-year operating projections, and Sources and Uses budget spreadsheet, among others (the full list is in the Required Documents section on this page). Check the official notice for formatting and page-limit rules.
Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) is sponsored by USDA Rural Development (administered by Reinvestment Fund). HFFI is a public-private partnership that provides financial and technical assistance to eligible fresh, healthy food retailers and food retail supply chain enterprises. The goal is to overcome higher costs and barriers to entry in underserved areas and improve access to staple and perishable foods.
America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative is sponsored by USDA Rural Development (administered by Reinvestment Fund). A public-private partnership created by the 2014 Farm Bill to improve access to healthy food in underserved areas. It provides resources to eligible fresh, healthy food retailers and enterprises to overcome the higher costs and initial barriers to entry in these areas.
The Homeless Youth Program is a grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services that funds services for homeless and at-risk youth across Illinois. Administered through the Office of Community and Positive Youth Development, it supports nonprofit organizations delivering shelter, outreach, and support services to young people experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Eligible applicants are Illinois-based nonprofits with demonstrated capacity to serve youth. Awards range from $100,000 to $800,000 per year under CSFA number 444-80-0711. This is a FY 2026 funding opportunity with an application deadline of May 21, 2025.
Community Investment Tax Credit Program (CITC) is a grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development that provides state tax credit allocations to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, enabling them to attract private donations from individuals and businesses. Donors contributing $500 or more to approved projects receive tax credits equal to 50% of their contribution. The program has leveraged nearly $27 million in charitable contributions to approximately 700 projects statewide. Eligible project areas include education, housing, job training, arts and culture, economic development, and services for at-risk populations. Projects must be located in or serve residents of Maryland's Priority Funding Areas. The application period is typically held annually.
The Families First Community Grant Program is a competitive grant initiative from the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) offering approximately $27 million in funding to support nonprofit organizations serving low-income Tennessee families. Grants fund programs across four priority areas: education, health, economic stability, and family well-being, aligned with TANF goals of promoting self-sufficiency. Eligible applicants are 501(c)(3) nonprofits based in Tennessee that provide direct services to economically disadvantaged families. The 2025 application cycle closed July 10, 2025. This program reflects Tennessee's broader commitment to strengthening communities through strategic investment in local organizations that address the root causes of poverty.
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