America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative

Request Ticket // Limit: 1 (Lead Applicant) // Tickets Available: 1

Limiting Language
Partnerships can only submit one application to the HFFI Partnerships Program. Lead applicants may only lead one application. Partner organizations may be listed as partners to multiple submissions.  

Executive Summary
Reinvestment Fund, in its capacity as National Fund Manager (NFM) for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative at USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service, requests applications for America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program (HFFI Partnerships Program) for 2026. 

$20,000,000 is available for grants for the second round of the HFFI Partnerships Program. The purpose of the program is to build the capacity of locally- and regionally-focused Healthy Food Financing Partnerships to provide financial and technical assistance to eligible healthy food retailers and post harvest food retail supply chain enterprises. The program builds capacity by offering grants for operating expenses (Capacity Building activities) and grants to be used to help deploy loans and other financial assistance (Credit Enhancement activities). Eligible applicants include regional, state, or local public private partnerships of two or more entities that are organized to improve access to fresh, healthy foods and provide financial and technical assistance to eligible projects in Underserved Areas. 

This notice identifies the objectives for the HFFI Partnerships Program, deadline dates, funding information, eligibility criteria for programs and applicants, projects that are eligible for receiving support under HFFI Partnerships Program grants, and application requirements and associated instructions needed to apply for an HFFI Partnerships Program grant. 

All applicants are strongly encouraged to read the full RFA before applying for an HFFI Partnerships Program grant to ensure that your project meets program eligibility requirements and that you understand and can accept the regulations associated with Federal funding.  

HFFI 2026 Partnerships Program Eligibility Check

Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 0 

J. Parlin (Pima County Extension)

Limiting Language
The HFFI FARE Fund will only accept one Funding Inquiry per entity per RFA.

Program Description
This Request for Applications (RFA) is for the 2026 HFFI Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (HFFI FARE Fund) Grant and Technical Assistance funding for the predevelopment, planning, and implementation of eligible projects aiming to increase food access, and strengthen, expand, and innovate within the food retail supply chain. For the 2026 funding cycle, at least $5,250,000 is available for planning and implementation Grants and at least $1,000,000 is available for Technical Assistance. 

The HFFI FARE Fund supports innovative fresh Food Retail and Food Enterprise business models that seek to improve consumer access to healthy food in underserved areas through food retail. Funding can be used for project development, renovation, and/or expansion. Funding is designed to be one-time investments of capital into projects creating a food retail or food supply chain enterprise business model in order to address higher costs and initial barriers to entry in underserved rural and urban areas. Planning and implementation Grants should unlock additional sources of capital, catalyze project sustainability, meet financing gaps, and/or enable deeper impact or project reach. Grants are available for both early-stage planning and predevelopment projects and implementation shovel-ready projects that have a site identified and/or established site control, have completed feasibility tasks, and present a reasonable timeline for opening.  Technical Assistance (TA) will be available to support specific contractual soft costs for early-stage planning, predevelopment, and business assistance needs where resources would help build local capacity to develop a Food Retail Outlet or Food Enterprise and would clarify or advance an eligible project.