Second round of the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund (VFAIF)
program will open on December 1, 2021
Please share with your networks.
The Virginia Food Access
Investment Fund (VFAIF) is a statewide program that focuses on equity and
justice in local food systems by investing in new or expanding food retailers
that address food access issues in the Commonwealth. VFAIF offers grants and
loans to fund the business development, construction, rehabilitation, equipment
upgrades and expansion of grocery stores, small food retailers, and innovative
food retail projects in historically marginalized communities.
Food acts as a common thread
between history and culture, neighborhood empowerment and economic
sustainability, and healthier lifestyles. The VFAIF program has been developed
using the Equitable Food-Oriented Development model, a development strategy
that uses food and agriculture to create economic opportunities and healthy
neighborhoods and that explicitly seeks to build community assets, pride, and
power by and with historically marginalized communities.
For the purposes of this program,
historically marginalized communities are defined as minority or underserved,
as well as those experiencing low food access. In these communities, the objectives
of this program are to:
·
improve access to fresh foods and reduce food deserts across the
Commonwealth;
·
create wealth, support leadership, and improve access to capital
in historically marginalized communities;
·
assess, support and transform existing or potential businesses
into sustainable community-owned businesses;
·
foster innovative solutions that uplift and share successful
food business models; and
·
reduce food insecurity, strengthen food systems and improve
health outcomes for historically marginalized communities.
The next
VFAIF round is open from December 1st, 2021 to February 22nd, 2022. Grant
documents are posted on VDACS website: Virginia
Food Access Investment Fund Grants
Please
review the first round of funded projects and
the Equitable Food Oriented Development
Brown Paper.
·
Learn more about the awardees of
the inaugural 2021 VFAIF grant cycle
·
2021
Virginia Food Access Investment Fund Awardees Map
To learn
more, please reach out to Sara Santa Cruz, Coordinator, Virginia Food Access
Investment Fund:
Virginia
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
102 Governor
Street
Richmond,
VA 23219
Office:
804-786-1495
Cell:
804-398-0382
sara.santacruz@vdacs.virginia.gov
Preferred
pronouns: she/her
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