The Colorado Fresh Food Financing Fund (CO4F) is a statewide loan and grant fund created to support businesses and other community initiatives that improve convenient access to affordable, healthy, and culturally relevant food. The program is intended to offer flexible financing that is not available from commercial lenders. CO4F projects are evaluated based on their ability to provide a positive community impact and address structural inequities.
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Colorado Fresh Food Financing Fund Grows Opportunities to Support Food Access
The Colorado Fresh Food Financing Fund (CO4F) offers financial resources to increase access to affordable, healthy, and culturally relevant food, particularly in communities with lower incomes and limited healthy options. CO4F recently expanded its program to support a wider range of projects and address structural inequities in Colorado’s food system.
For nearly 10 years, CO4F has supported the construction, renovation, and operation of grocery stores and other food retailers across Colorado. CO4F’s newly expanded project eligibility now includes distribution and aggregation projects, healthy prepared food (including restaurants), charitable food system partners, and other innovative community food programs and businesses.
Additionally, CO4F has renewed its commitment to address structural inequities in Colorado’s food system by evaluating projects based on their ability to improve health, build wealth, and fill gaps in the regional food system to serve high need and low-access areas. A food justice lens considers the systematic policies and practices that have led to disparities in health and economic outcomes for Coloradans who are people of color and/or have low incomes.
“In the time that CO4F has existed, much has been learned about how food, community, and culture interconnect. Therefore, the program’s purpose has grown beyond increasing access to groceries, to supporting food systems and other innovations for greater, sustainable outcomes in food access throughout Colorado,” said Cris White, executive director and CEO of Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), CO4F administrator.
Applicants may apply for loan and/or grant funding. Stand-alone grants are capped at $50,000 per project and are reserved for projects that demonstrate innovation to advance food justice. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but prospective applicants are encouraged to apply by the end of January 2023.
To learn more about CO4F, eligibility requirements, and access application materials, please visit CO4F’s website.
