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USDA invests $40.3 million in food financing initiative

The USDA is awarding more than $40 million to improve local food financing partnerships and expand food access across the country.

Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small tells Brownfield the Healthy Food Financing Initiative will help more farmers bring products to market through additional funding and technical assistance.

“To studies or capacity evaluations to help identify what the specific solution is for the farmers on the ground or for the entity in the food supply chain that can answer those specific challenges, she says.

Reinvestment Fund Senior Program Manager Anne Misak says the 16 Local & Regional Healthy Food Financing projects will provide grants, loans, and technical assistance across 20 states including Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee.

“There’s a lot of businesses in the food retail supply chain that are new that are trying to address the needs of their communities, but maybe don’t have historically haven’t had the resources to do that,” she says.

Half of the projects will help increase food access in rural communities.

The Reinvestment Fund serves as the National Fund Manager for USDA.