Detroit Michigan, April 25, 2024 – Michigan Good Food Fund has been awarded $3 million by Reinvestment Fund through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Partnerships Program. This transformative support will enable the Michigan Good Food Fund to further its mission of investing in food and farm businesses to help them obtain the financing and support they need for their businesses to thrive.
The HFFI Partnerships Program is designed to invest in local capacity to establish and grow partnerships between organizations that are working at the local, state, or regional level to provide financing and technical assistance to food retail and food supply chain businesses in underserved communities. Michigan Good Food Fund is one of 16 recipients of the HFFI Partnership Program’s most recent round of $40.3 million in funding. These awards collectively represent 75 local organizations creating or expanding food financing programs and increasing access to healthy foods in 20 states and Washington, D.C.
As administrators of the Michigan Good Food Fund, Fair Food Network plans to not only bolster the capacity and personnel of the Michigan Good Food Fund over multiple years but also allocate $2 million for innovative credit enhancements. Aaron Jackson, Director of Michigan Good Food Fund at Fair Food Network, expressed his gratitude, sharing, “We’re deeply grateful for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Reinvestment Fund’s support, propelling Michigan Good Food Fund’s mission forward and benefiting food and farm businesses statewide. This funding will be used toward innovative credit enhancements, helping us to unlock vital capital and support the success of food entrepreneurs. By leveraging these enhancements, we mitigate risk, ease financial paths, and address challenges like fluctuating interest rates, helping entrepreneurs repay loans more feasibly and focus on their important work — feeding our communities.”
Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (MSU CRFS), a founding partner of the Michigan Good Food Fund collective, supported Fair Food Network to obtain this new funding and is one of the collective’s lead business assistance providers. MSU CRFS was also recently selected to coordinate the USDA Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center and through both regional and statewide programs supports small- and mid-sized food and farm businesses in underserved places.
“We envision an equitable and sustainable food system rooted in thriving local economies and centered on food that is healthy, green and affordable,” said Jude Barry, Associate Director of MSU CRFS. “Support from the HFFI Partnerships Program will greatly strengthen and extend Michigan Good Food Fund’s ability to offer sector specific integrated capital to the good food enterprises it serves.”
Launched in 2015, Michigan Good Food Fund offers food and farm businesses flexible financing and tailored business assistance through a network of lending partners and advisors. It aims to foster a resilient, inclusive food industry in Michigan, particularly supporting entrepreneurs historically marginalized due to race, ethnicity, and/or gender. Guided by its Stakeholder Board, composed of a diverse group of Michigan-based entrepreneurs, farmers, funders, and policymakers, the Michigan Good Food Fund connects entrepreneurs with what they need and builds long-term relationships to help their businesses thrive.
“Through the transformative support of the USDA’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative, the Michigan Good Food Fund will continue to pave the way for an inclusive food industry in our state, empowering entrepreneurs who harness the power of food and contribute to vibrant communities. The Stakeholders Board is proud to contribute a grassroots-led vision of community building, as we strive for equity and sustainability in every aspect of our work,” commented Tony Vu, chair of the Michigan Good Food Fund Stakeholder Board.
About the USDA’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative
Through funding made available primarily by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, Reinvestment Fund has provided $40.3 million in grants under the HFFI Local & Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program. This program provides funding to local, state, and regional organizations that partner to offer financing and technical assistance to food retailers in underserved communities. Funding for this program is made possible by the 2023 expansion of HFFI, which created the HFFI Partnerships Program to broaden the impact of the program and expand markets for a diversity of growers while helping people access healthy foods.
###
For media inquiries, email media@fairfoodnetwork.org or call 734.213.3999 x 221.
About Michigan Good Food Fund
Michigan Good Food Fund invests in food and farm entrepreneurs across the state, offering flexible financing and tailored business assistance that supports vibrant, equitable communities. We meet entrepreneurs where they are, connect them with what they need, and build long-term relationships that help their businesses thrive. As we work toward a more resilient, inclusive food industry, we focus on entrepreneurs whose access to power and capital has been historically limited because of their race, ethnicity, and/or gender. Our efforts are guided by the shared vision of our Stakeholder Board, a diverse group of entrepreneurs, farmers, funders, and policymakers with deep roots in Michigan. Learn more at MiGoodFoodFund.org.
About Fair Food Network
Fair Food Network is a national nonprofit and investor that grows community health, wealth, and resiliency through food. Our work is implemented in Michigan and our solutions are replicated in communities across the country. We transform how resources flow through the food economy for a more fair and resilient future. Our approach integrates policy advocacy that brings proven solutions to scale, partnerships that increase our collective impact, and investments in food organizations and businesses that serve their communities. We’re building a world in which everyone has access to healthy choices, economic opportunity, and a resilient food and agriculture system. When we start with food, everything else is possible. Join us at FairFoodNetwork.org.
About Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems
The Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (CRFS) unites the knowledge of diverse food systems stakeholders with that of MSU faculty and staff to advance regionally-rooted food systems through applied research, education, and outreach. Our work fosters a thriving economy, equity, and sustainability for Michigan, the nation, and the planet by increasing understanding of and engagement with systems that produce food that is healthy, green, fair, and affordable. Learn more at foodsystems.msu.edu.