TRF Awarded $5 million Grant from MacArthur Foundation

We are honored to announce that TRF was one of three organizations this year to receive a large institutional grant from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Each year, the MacArthur Foundation selects a few organizations from around the world who carry out high-quality, distinctive work that is relevant to the Foundation's goals. The grant is recognition of TRF's strong executive and board leadership and sound financial management. TRF will use this $5 million grant to help develop the systems it needs to grow and as equity to leverage millions more in private capital. This grant will help TRF to become a self-sufficient permanent institution that serves low-wealth communities long into the future.

Preston Place Welcomes New Homeowners

The Oliver community in East Baltimore joined TRF Development Partners (TRF-DP) and BUILD to welcome the first six new homeowners to Preston Place. Also present were Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and investors in TRF-DP Baltimore. Guests were also treated to a tour of the model energy-efficient townhome. The first phase of what will be a 122-unit residential development, has been completed. The Davis family featured on the right are among the new homeowners.

Celebrating Our 23rd Year

More than 300 investors, partners and friends gathered at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden this past June to celebrate TRF's 23rd year. This year's annual event threw the spotlight on TRF's work in New Jersey, where TRF has invested over $100 million since its inception. The event also honored 4 partners with TRF's George Bailey Award, recognizing their leadership and commitment to making a difference. The awardees were the Jersey City Community Charter School, Dudley Benoit of JPMorgan Chase, Pamela McCrory, a longtime advocate for special needs housing and Monsignor Robert McDermott of Camden's St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society. The event was preceded by the TRF Lecture on Economic Markets and Public Purpose featuring Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com. Mr. Zandi spoke on the foreclosure crisis and fielded questions on the subject from the audience. Listen to Mr.Zandi's presentation.

Creating Design Concepts for Urban Supermarkets

Limited often by expectations of what a supermarket should look like or what a storefront offers, operators get stuck when working with urban spaces. The Community Design Collaborative’s Infill Philadelphia program has taken on Food Access, working with TRF and The Food Trust. Design practitioners and community development experts have come together to develop options for retrofitting a corner grocery as a neighborhood food co-op in Philadelphia's Ogontz Avenue Commercial Corridor, transforming a vacant warehouse into a large food co-op and retail anchor for a re-born business district in Chester, PA, and developing a supermarket on a challenging urban infill site in Brewerytown. Follow the progress of this program as the designs are unveiled on September 16 at the Center for Architecture. Click here for more information on the event and to rsvp.

TRF staff help paint a mural about the cycle of fresh food on the side of a ShopRite supermarket on 23rd Street and Oregon. The mural is a project of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program.

New Data on TRF's PolicyMap

PolicyMap continues to add new datasets and TRF analytics each month. The PolicyMap-generated map on the right shows housing affordability for homeowners in Prince George's County, MD, with the large swatches of light purple indicating that fewer than 4% of homes in any block group are affordable to households earning 80% of area median income (click map to enlarge.) PolicyMap offers more than 4,000 nationwide indicators related to demographics, real estate, crime, money & income, jobs, education, energy, and public investments. Visit today and register for free!

Greening Supermarkets to Lower Costs

As part of TRF’s efforts to bring supermarkets to underserved communities, TRF is committed to helping large and small grocery store operators implement high performance energy efficiency measures in their stores. Greening Grocery: Strategies for Sustainable Food Retailing identifies prototypical store layouts and provides strategies for enhancing building and systems performance while lowering costs over time. Funded by the William Penn Foundation and TRF’s Sustainable Development Fund, the report is part of The Green Supermarket Initiative, The Food Trust’s focus on sustainability strategies that lower grocery store development and operating costs. Energy costs are second only to labor for supermarkets.