ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 17, 2024 – USDA Rural Development Alaska State Director Julia Hnilicka today announced USDA is partnering with Reinvestment Fund to help organizations strengthen local food financing programs and improve access to healthy foods in underserved communities in Southeast Alaska, Washington, and Oregon.
“USDA Rural Development is grateful to be working with a strong community partner, Spruce Root CDFI, among others, in this important endeavor to bring healthy foods closer to rural people,” Hnilicka said. “The Biden-Harris Administration values relationships like these which we need to serve our rural communities and make sure people have greater food security even if they live in remote locations. Strengthening local supply chains and access to producers will expand the web of food security across Southeast Alaska.”
Spruce Root CDFI, headquartered in Juneau, is one of nine entities that are collaborating to form the Pacific Northwest Resilient Food Systems Partnership, serving communities in Southeast Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. The partnership includes two nonprofits (Ecotrust and NW Agriculture Business Center), two qualified lenders (Spruce Root CDFI and Micro Enterprise Service of Oregon CDFI), and five government entities (Prosper Portland, King Conservation District, Department of Natural Resources & Parks, Public Health – Seattle and King County, Multnomah County Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health). Healthy Foods Financing Initative (HFFI) funding will provide resources to extend activities across the partnership’s service areas and provide planning, operations, capital strategy, and grants to food retailers and enterprises.
Reinvestment Fund has selected 16 public-private partnerships to receive $40.3 million in grants under the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Local & Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program to expand access to nutritious and affordable foods in 20 states and Washington, D.C. The 16 partnerships announced today represent 75 local organizations across the country. They will create or expand food financing programs and increase access to healthy food for people living in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
A full description of the partner organizations, their respective missions, and the communities they serve is available online.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/ak.