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HFFI Food Access and Retail Expansion (FARE) Fund is a grant from America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative and The Reinvestment Fund that funds food retailers, co-ops, and food access organizations expanding healthy food availability in underserved communities across the United States.
The FARE Fund provides capital and grants to support new or expanded grocery stores, farmers markets, mobile markets, and community food enterprises in low-income, low-access areas. Eligible applicants include food retailers, nonprofits, and community development organizations with projects that demonstrably improve access to healthy food for low-income populations.
The program also offers technical assistance to applicants alongside capital financing.
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FARE Fund | America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative FARE Fund | America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative Stakeholder & Consultant Opportunities About the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Stakeholder & Consultant Opportunities Call for Application Reviewers Technical Assistance Providers FOOD ACCESS AND RETAIL EXPANSION FUND 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 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 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 About the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Any views, opinions, or recommendations expressed here are those of Reinvestment Fund and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Reinvestment Fund does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability or veteran status.
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: For-profit businesses, cooperatively owned businesses, tax-exempt nonprofits, institutions of higher education, state/local/tribal governments and agencies. Projects must be in USDA-designated underserved areas. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The most recent published deadline was August 18, 2025, which has passed. This is an annual program, so a new cycle should follow. Check the funder's website for the next application window.
HFFI Food Access and Retail Expansion (FARE) Fund is funded by The 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.
Green Energy Loan Fund (GELF) is sponsored by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (managed by The Reinvestment Fund). GELF provides financing for energy efficiency retrofits and the installation of energy conservation measures and high-performance energy systems in buildings throughout Pennsylvania. This can include smart building technologies that enhance energy efficiency.
Green Energy Loan Fund (GELF) is sponsored by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and U.S. Department of Energy (Managed by The Reinvestment Fund). The Pennsylvania Green Energy Loan Fund (GELF) provides financing for energy efficiency retrofits and the installation of energy conservation measures and high-performance energy systems in buildings throughout Pennsylvania.
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.
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.