El Paso – El Paso County has broken new ground as the first county in the country to establish a Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) to increase access to healthy and affordable food. In December of 2018, El Paso County allocated $500,000 of the County Economic Development Impact Fund to start the initiative. With this investment, the County will offer grants and low-interest loans to develop and expand healthy food retail and infrastructure in high-need areas of El Paso County.
On July 1, Commissioners Court unanimously approved agreements with two HFFI partners to move forward and open applications for the inaugural program. Working with PeopleFund, a Texas-based community development financing institution, the HFFI program will offer $500,000 in low-interest loans in addition to the $500,000 in grants. The partnership with PeopleFund means we can double the amount of funds available for HFFI. PeopleFund also has great experience working with small businesses to help them succeed.
“There is such a huge need to improve access to healthy, affordable food in our county. This new program will drive economic development around healthy food retail,” said Commissioner David Stout, who proposed the HFFI as part of the County’s Economic Development Impact Fund. “Programs like this not only lead to increased access to healthy food, they create new jobs as well,” said Stout.