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Across the country, nearly 40 million Americans live in rural and urban neighborhoods where easy access to affordable, high-quality, and healthy food is out of reach. A new bill, introduced by Representatives Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and Dwight Evans (D-PA), addresses this critical issue by bolstering an existing program that has demonstrated success in improving access to healthy foods and spurring economic revitalization in underserved communities. The “Healthy Food Financing Initiative Reauthorization Act” would reauthorize the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) program at United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Rural Development, originally established at the agency in the Agricultural Act of 2014.

The United States Department of Agriculture announced the selection of Reinvestment Fund to serve as the National Fund Manager for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). The announcement is a capstone to Reinvestment Fund’s decade plus efforts to bring equitable access to healthy food to communities across America.

As the National Fund Manager, Reinvestment Fund will raise private capital, provide financial and technical assistance to regional, state and local partnerships, and channel capital to fund eligible projects that will improve access to fresh, healthy foods in underserved rural areas.