Sponsoring Agency: City of Milwaukee
Deadline Available: Available
Deadline Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 04/05/2021
Size of the Fund: Less than USD $50,000
The City of Milwaukee is seeking solutions to heighten access to fresh affordable high‐quality food options for Milwaukee neighborhoods. The Fresh Food Access Fund (FFAF) is a grant program dedicated to the financial support of healthy food initiatives in underserved communities with limited food choices.
The FFAF is designed to facilitate efforts to eliminate neighborhood food deserts by assisting both for‐profit businesses and registered not‐for‐profit organizations to implement food access projects.
The Goals of FFAF
• Financially support activities that increase the access of underserved communities to healthy food choices
• Partner with community organizations, businesses, and other government entities with a fresh food component
• Address the issues identified in the Milwaukee Fresh Food Access Report
o Focus on particular areas of concern identified as food deserts
Grant Types and Amounts
FFAF will provide assistance to capital projects and education projects. The FFAF will provide a maximum of 50% of the total cost of a project. See the chart below for information about minimum and maximum grant for each project type.
Grant type
• Capital grant (project may include associated educational components).
o Minimum grant: $10,000 – Project budget must be at least $20,000 to qualify.
o Maximum grant: $50,000 – Project budget must be at least $100,000 to qualify
• Education program grant
o Minimum grant: $1,000 – Project budget must be at least $2,000 to qualify.
o Maximum grant: $5,000 – Project budget must be at least $10,000 to qualify
Grant applicants are required to provide a full budget for the proposed project, identifying the sources and uses of all funds.
Eligible Projects
The FFAF provides matching grants to projects that advance one or more of the following strategies:
• Attract grocery stores and mobile market stops to underserved neighborhoods
• Develop other retail outlets in underserved neighborhoods as sources of fresh foods
• Increase the stock of fresh foods in corner stores
• Increase the amount of locally grown food that is available to Milwaukee consumers
• Meet the fresh food needs of populations with special dietary requirements
• Improve transportation to grocery stores and farmer’s markets for individuals who live in underserved areas
• Improve nutrition and food preparation education
Eligible uses of Fresh Food Access Fund grants
• FFAF grants may be used for the following purposes.
o Capital expenditures related to the establishment, expansion, or improvement of a food‐related business that expands access to fresh, healthy food for underserved residents. For example:
o Purchase of equipment to store and/or prepare healthy food
o Purchase of furniture, fixtures, and start‐up inventory for a healthy food business
o Build‐out of space to house or expand a food retail operation
o Purchase of vehicles
o Improvements to the exterior and signage of a food retail operation
o Construction or equipment activities related to community gardens
• Expenditures to implement nutrition education programs for consumers. For example:
o Instructor compensation
o Food and kitchen utensils used during instruction
o Space Rental
o Outreach materials
Grant Selection Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated by a committee. Evaluation will rate factors such as the following:
• The experience of the applicant in addressing issues relating to food insecurity and food access (up to 20 points).
• The impact of the project and plans for measuring impact (up to 20 points).
• Financial feasibility of the project – the ability to leverage additional funds and the level of financial need. Be sure to include documentation of any additional funds that are available or pledged to the project (up to 20 points).
• The manner and extent to which the project will improve access to healthy food within a food desert (up to 20 points).
• The nature and design of the project, and the likelihood that the project will successfully implement one or more strategies identified in the Fresh Food Access Fund (up to 20 points).
More information at: https://city.milwaukee.gov/DCD/BusinessToolbox/Fresh-Food-Access-Fund.htm
