Southeast Food Forward

Southeast Food Forward is sponsored by Reinvestment Fund (funded by Walmart Foundation). This program supports community-driven food enterprises increasing healthy food access in underserved communities across the Southeastern United States. It funds entities implementing and operating community-driven business models along the food supply chain.

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In July 2025, Reinvestment Fund announced nearly $1 million in grants and technical assistance awards to 13 projects through the Southeast Food Forward (SFF) program. Southeast Food Forward will provide grants and technical assistance (TA) to advance equitable healthy food access in underserved and resource-constrained communities in the Southeastern United States.

Download the Request for Applications Descargar la solicitud de propuestas There is a strong undercurrent of support in the Southeast for financially sustainable projects that are community-driven and inspired by cooperative models. These priorities are reflected in the design of SFF, including the program eligibility requirements, application review, and award decision-making process.

Through SFF, approximately $1 million will be awarded in grants and TA to projects involving market-based food enterprise business models that are operating in the post-harvest food supply chain, including processors/manufacturers, aggregators, wholesalers, distributors, commercial kitchens and other supply chain infrastructure, retailers, delivery solutions, and points of service.

This includes food enterprises participating in supply chain activities that provide and supply healthy food to downstream grocery retailers in underserved communities and farm-to-institution initiatives serving marginalized populations, such as farm-to-school and farm-to-corrections programs.

Funding for SFF is made possible through Reinvestment Fund’s Equitable Food System – Southeast Initiative (EFS-SI), a project funded by Walmart Foundation, with the goal of addressing twin issues facing communities in the SE: (a) limited food access and (b) stymied growth of food enterprises — both issues directly related to the systemic and historic underinvestment in the food supply chain and necessary infrastructure, along with the lack of institutional support.

$946,000 is available for direct grants to eligible projects through Southeast Food Forward. Grants awards may be from $50,000 – $80,000. Additionally, at least $40,000 will be available to projects for Technical Assistance.

TA awards may be up to $10,000 and will only be awarded to projects selected for grant funding. Applicants must apply for a grant in order to also apply for the additional TA funding. TA requests must be complementary to the grant request, not duplicative.

SFF will fund projects supporting the creation or expansion of food enterprise business models that meet the following eligibility requirements: Eligible applicant entities include : For-profit businesses (such as corporations, limited liability companies, sole proprietorships, and public benefit corporations); Tax-exempt nonprofit corporations; Government agencies, authorities, commissions, or councils; Tribal agencies or authorities; Cooperatively owned entities or managed ventures Fiscally sponsored projects are eligible to apply.

Individuals are not eligible to apply. Business models funded through SFF must: Be located in and serving the Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Native American tribes within the region.

Lead to equitable healthy food access in underserved areas within the Southeast region, whether rural or urban, including those areas affected by systemic disinvestment and historic marginalization Operate in the post-harvest supply chain Be in the Pre-Operating or Operating Stages: Existing business models that are already operating and would like to use SFF funds to expand operations are eligible.

Pre-operating models, including a second location of existing enterprises, that are not yet operating must meet specific criteria in the RFA at the point of application submission.

Embody five or more of eight principles adapted from the cooperative movement: Autonomy and independence; Education; Cooperation; Concern for community; Inclusion; Voluntary and open participation; Democratic member control; Member economic participation Projects will be assessed according to their alignment with the below program criteria and priorities: Community Driven : Priority will be given to applicants with diverse and relevant memberships, ownership structure, partnerships, and/or collaborations that reflect inclusion of the community members they serve, bolstering trust building.

Serving Marginalized Populations : SFF will prioritize funding projects that reach marginalized populations that have historically experienced inequitable food access and lack of investments into enterprises along the food supply chain, including areas that have limited access to affordable, healthy foods (fresh and frozen, unprepared staple food items, including, produce, meats, poultry, seafood, dairy, and grains), lack grocery retail stores or farmer-to-consumer direct markets, gaps in farmer-to-institution markets, and have high rates of hunger, food insecurity, and poverty.

This includes people with low incomes and those who identify as BIPOC, Hispanic/Latino, and/or immigrant. Sustained Impact : SFF will prioritize projects that clearly indicate how funding will catalyze the long-term operations of the business model to create sustained impact, and if applicable, leverage additional funding and/or resources. Applicants should describe how their food enterprise will sustain operations in the long term.

SFF will also prioritize projects that integrate climate change mitigation and resilience into their project to enhance the enterprise’s viability long term. For more detailed information about uses of funds and eligibility, please carefully review the Request for Applications . SFF will only accept one application per organization or project.

Applications must be submitted through Reinvestment Fund’s online grants portal, SmartSimple ( https://reinvestmentfund. smartsimple. com/ ), by 11:59 PM ET / 10:59 PM CT on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

Program staff will be available to answer questions until Monday, May 12, 2025 at 5 PM ET / 4 PM CT. Applicants should thoroughly read the RFA before submitting an application. As part of our commitment to equitable engagement, Reinvestment Fund will provide Spanish interpretation and translation support for Spanish-speaking applicants during the application process.

A Spanish RFA is available at the following link. Resources will also be made available for awarded entities. Descargar la solicitud de propuestas Following eligibility screening by program staff, the SFF application review process will take place in two phases.

Phase 1 includes scoring of applications by a panel of food systems stakeholders. Phase 2 includes a participatory grantmaking component, through which entities selected to receive funding will have the option to participate in making grant allocation recommendations alongside other selected awardees. Only entities selected to receive grants may participate in the grant allocation recommendation process.

To participate in Phase 2, selected awardees must be available to attend introductory / informational sessions on June 6 and June 9, and must be available to review and submit grant allocation recommendations between June 9 – June 13. Participants will receive a $2,000 stipend upon satisfactory completion of Phase 2 responsibilities. Additional information regarding the application review process can be found on page 20 of this RFA.

For a detailed description of the program, including eligibility criteria, deadlines, the cohort-based decision-making process, and how to apply, please read the RFA.

Download the Request for Applications 2025 EFS-SI Southeast Food Forward Frequently Asked Questions 2025 EFS-SI Southeast Food Forward RFA Informational Webinar Slides 2025 EFS-SI Southeast Food Forward RFA Informational Webinar Recording Reinvestment Fund’s Limited Supermarket Access Analysis USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas SmartSimple Registration Guide For questions, please contact us at efs-southeast@reinvestment. com