Each of the three agencies brings a particular expertise and set of resources to the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Specifically:

The Treasury Department will support private sector financing of healthy foods options in distressed urban and rural communities. Through the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and financial assistance to Treasury-certified community development financial institutions (CDFIs), Treasury has a proven track record in expanding access to nutritious foods by catalyzing private sector investment. The Healthy Foods Financing Initiative builds on that track record, with $250 million in authority for the NMTC and $25 million for financial assistance to CDFIs devoted to helping finance healthy food options. Treasury ™s CDFI Fund has a long history of supporting these kinds of investments, including: providing funding for the landmark Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative that has brought 68 grocery stores to underserved communities; the Roberts Fresh Market, a full-service supermarket in an underserved area of New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina; and a new Super Giant in Washington, D.C., the only grocery store in the Anacostia neighborhood and now one of Giant ™s most successful stores. The Department of Agriculture specializes in improving access to healthy foods through nutrition assistance programs, creating business opportunities for America ™s farmers, and promoting economic development in rural areas. USDA ™s proposed funding level of $50 million will support more than $150 million in public and private investments in the form of loans, grants, promotion, and other programs that can provide financial and technical assistance to enhance access to healthy foods in under-served communities, expand demand and retail outlets for farm products, and increase the availability of locally and regionally produced foods. USDA has a solid track record of supporting successful farmers markets, and has also invested in grocery stores and creating agricultural supply chains for them, such as in the People ™s Grocery project in Oakland, CA. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) specializes in community-based efforts to improve the economic and physical health of people in distressed areas. HHS will dedicate up to $20 million in Community Economic Development program funds to the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Through the CED program, HHS will award competitive grants to Community Development Corporations to support projects that finance grocery stores, farmers markets, and other sources of fresh nutritious food. These projects will serve the dual purposes of facilitating access to healthy food options while creating job and business development opportunities in low-income communities, particularly since grocery stores often serve as anchor institutions in commercial centers. HHS has supported fresh food projects in the past, such as the Plaza del Valle in Panorama City, CA.

SOURCE Department of Health and Human Services