Healthy Food Financing Initiative Awards Piedmont Triad Regional Council in Local and Regional Partnerships Program

We are excited to share that Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC) has been awarded $3 million in grant funding through the Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program (HFFI Partnerships Program) led by Reinvestment Fund.

PTRC and its Piedmont Triad Regional Food Council (PTRFC), have formed a partnership with CDFI lenders, Self-Help and Partner Community Capital for this project- Growing Food Finance in the Triad. This newly formed Partnership was developed through a mutual desire to provide financial and technical assistance to eligible healthy food retailers and food enterprises in underserved areas. The five-year program will launch in summer 2024 to serve an area that aligns with PTRC’s region of 12 counties: Alamance; Caswell; Davidson; Davie; Forsyth; Guilford; Montgomery; Randolph; Rockingham; Stokes; Surry; and Yadkin.

Of the $3 million awarded, $1 million will fund a Food Finance Technical Assistance Hub offering trainings, convenings and other capacity-building services for food retail and food enterprises. A pot of $2 million will provide credit-enhancement activities, such as interest rate buydowns and a loan guarantee pool, to incentivize loans through CDFI partners. Combining the collective expertise of our partnership, and further providing credit enhancement funding to mitigate lending risk, our program promises to capitalize on a pipeline of loan-ready healthy food retailers and food enterprises that likely would not otherwise be able to access loans.

Nationally, Reinvestment Fund awarded $40,336,270 in grant funding to support 16 Food Financing Programs as part of the Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program. This initiative aims to bolster food financing programs in rural, urban, and Tribal communities across 20 states and Washington D.C.

"Improving food access, economic strength, and resilience for communities across the country requires a multifaceted approach with both national and localized solutions," said Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund. "The HFFI Partnerships Program investments will help build the capacity of our nationwide healthy food financing field and provide critical resources to local partners who directly reduce barriers to increase access to an equitable, resilient food system that benefits thousands of families."

PTRC is happy to be part of this transformative effort and is committed to making a lasting impact on food access and community well-being. “Food production remains important to economies across the 12-county Piedmont Triad region. We look forward to connecting with food system partners to strengthen food enterprise and access across the Piedmont Triad Food System,” says Executive Director, Matthew Dolge.

Stay tuned for updates on how we'll be utilizing this grant to serve our community better. For more information, please contact Jennifer Bedrosian, Food Systems Coordinator, at jbedrosian@ptrc.org or (336) 904-0300.

Press Release