More than 23 million Americans live in areas without supermarkets or other places where they can access fresh, nutritious foods. This creates a major public health challenge in communities. Adding a supermarket or other fresh food retailer in these neighborhoods not only improves the health of residents, but also spurs economic development. Capital Impact Partners is demonstrating the impact that increased access to fresh, healthy foods can have by financing new stores, expansion of existing stores and innovations such as mobile markets and food hubs that scale distribution efforts.
Capital Impact Partners is a leader in partnering with social entrepreneurs and forward-thinking business owners so they can access the capital they need to build and expand their healthy food retail operations. We also work with leaders across the public, private and philanthropic sectors to enact policies and rethink ways to increase access to fresh foods for those who need it most.
Capacity Building
Expanding or launching a retail food enterprise serving low-income communities can be complicated. We supplement our lending efforts by offering a range of business service training to ensure your venture is investment-ready.
Healthy Food Financing
Through our variety of financing options, including the Michigan Good Food Fund, our loans support a range of needs from tradition acquisition and expansion to equipment purchasing to innovative distribution approaches.
Promoting Healthy Food Policy
We advocate for federal, state, and local legislation and produce policy papers on such topics as the Healthy Food Financing Initiative in order to support projects that increase access to healthy and affordable foods in low-income communities.
Interested in applying for a loan for your grocery store or healthy food enterprise?
Having healthy food retailers in urban and rural areas means residents do not have to travel long distances to buy fresh produce. This eliminates the reliance on convenience stores for groceries, whose food choices are made up of highly processed, high-sugar and high-fat foods.
It is as simple as this: a person’s zip code can determine his or her life expectancy. Increased ability to choose healthy and affordable foods can help low-income families live healthier lives and improve school performance.
Creating Economic Vitality Healthy food retailers can enhance the broader economic and social health of their surrounding communities through job creation, tax revenue and support for other retail operations, health centers schools and aging facilities.
In many rural communities, a grocery store can’t meet the needs of the dispersed residents. That’s why we stepped in finance the Produce on the Go Farmers Market. This innovative mobile market helps address a key problem in California’s Central Valley where much of the state’s agriculture is farmed, yet workers have little to no access to fresh food for their own families.
Deploying strategic capital to bring healthy food stores to communities creates real change in the way people eat, live, and work. That impact is illustrated in the individual stories highlighting those entrepreneurs, large grocery stores and social innovators with whom we have partnered and supported.
When Sam Shina wanted to revamp his neighborhood store to better serve his Detroit neighborhood with healthy, local and affordable offerings he turned to Capital Impact Partners. With $6 million in financing, Sam was able to double the size of his store and create a host of new jobs.
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Age-friendly communities require a range of support services, including access to nutritious food. Our financing of the Meals on Wheels program near Fort Worth, Texas helped build a new warehouse and modern kitchen facilities. This will help expand meal deliveries by 50% to at least 1.5 million meals annually for a mostly low-income older population.
Learn how the Co-op Innovation Award has supported Pilsen Housing Cooperative, Co-op Cincy & other co-ops in transforming communities through co-op ownership.
