In the News
Money available for food initiative
Natalie Kostelni
Philadelphia Business Journal, September 20, 2004
The Reinvestment Fund received $10 million in Pennsylvania funding for its newest program, the Fresh Food Financing Initiative. TRF's award is part of a statewide development program designed to increase the number of supermarket and other grocery stores in underserved urban and rural areas.
The TRF Fresh Food Financing Initiative will leverage the $10 million from the state with private funding as well as TRF's New Markets Tax Credit allocation, to form a $40 million multifaceted pool for fresh food retailers in underserved communities across Pennsylvania.
The effort is part of an initiative by state Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, who was instrumental in getting the state to create the provision in its economic stimulus package to finance supermarkets in underserved areas.
With the TRF Fresh Food Financing Initiative, Evans hopes the city can begin to give communities in lower-income areas the choice of more nutritionally balanced diets at affordable costs. This initiative has the potential to create jobs and revitalize these neighborhoods.
The TRF Fresh Food Financing Initiative will target fresh food retailers that plan to operate in underserved communities where infrastructure costs and credit needs are not usually filled by conventional financial institutions.
Created in partnership with The Food Trust and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, the initiative will provide a range of financing resources from pre-development grants and loans, to land acquisition and equipment financing, to capital grants for project funding gaps and construction and permanent finance.
The initiative will also support those it finances with nutrition education outreach, work force services and more traditional technical assistance. The Food Trust is serving as an initial point of contact for inquiries about the initiative and providing technical services as well as market analysis to interested parties. GPUAC will provide assistance to encourage the participation of minorities, women and disadvantaged businesses in this initiative. TRF will manage the initiative with the assistance of an advisory Committee.
Gov. Ed Rendell was expecting to make the announcement Monday afternoon at the Shop Rite at Island Avenue in Philadelphia, the first store to benefit from the initiative.
The Reinvestment Fund is a $210 million development finance corporation with a wealth-building agenda for low- and moderate-income people and places through the strategic use of capital, knowledge and innovation.