NEW MEXICO ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

Contact Info:

  • Erin Ortigoza (EDD)
  • Julie Cranston (VMC)

Email: hfff@edd.nm.gov
Phone: 505-819-8914 (Please leave a voicemail and someone will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible.)

Mailing address:
P.O Box 20003
Santa Fe, NM 87504-5003

Healthy Food Financing Fund (HFFF)

The Healthy Food Financing Fund FY24 grant cycle has now closed. We are currently reviewing applications and anticipate notifying awardees in mid-December. Thank you everyone who submitted applications!

HFFF is administered by the state fund manager, Vida Mejor Capital.

View the informational webinar and presentation slides:

HFFF FY24 Grant Cycle and Eligibility Info

HFFF has $950,000 in funding for FY24. No match is required and funding is upfront

Eligible Entities:

  • Political subdivisions of the state,
  • Indian nations, Tribes, and pueblos
  • For-profit business enterprises (including a corporation, limited liability company, sole proprietor, public benefit corporation, social enterprise)
  • Cooperatively owned businesses
  • Tax-exempt nonprofit corporations
  • Small farmers/ranchers with gross cash farm income under $250,000 are eligible (commercial and noncommercial farms)

Project Categories:

  • Food Retail (e.g. grocery stores, co-operatives, mobile grocery projects, farmers’ markets)
  • Processing/Value-added Products (meat, fruit, vegetables, dairy, grain, other)
  • Aggregation/Distribution/Transportation (e.g. food hubs, cold/dry storage)
  • New Mexico Grown Production (e.g. farmers, ranchers, co-operatives, nonprofit production, hydroponic/aquaponic)

Eligible Costs:

  • Predevelopment
  • Brick and Mortar Facility Development
  • Other capital needs
  • Consumer Packaged Goods
  • Agriculture-Only Project
  • Other soft cost

Program Overview

The purpose of New Mexico’s Healthy Food Financing Fund is to support the intersection of economic development in New Mexico’s food and agricultural sector with increased food security for New Mexicans. The HFFF program is an integral part of the governor’s Food Initiative and prioritizes food retail in rural and underserved communities and provides alternate market channels for value-add and sustainable agriculture. 

The HFFF program is the cornerstone of a strategic phased approach to developing a suite of financial tools for food and agricultural enterprises in New Mexico to grow, raise, process, aggregate, distribute and sell local, fresh healthy food through expanded retail and institutional market channels in rural and underserved communities in New Mexico.

Food Initiative Logo-01

The fund prioritizes projects demonstrating a focus on underserved communities in the following priority areas:

  • Projects that are led by individuals who are from historically marginalized communities
  • Projects that increase access to food for historically marginalized communities
  • Projects addressing workforce development/training and/or creation or retention of jobs in the food/agricultural retail or supply chain.
  • Projects involving capacity building of small and mid-scale food and agricultural operations to access strengthened market channels
  • Projects involving capacity building in the regional food supply chain networks for food safe storage/aggregation, distribution and transportation.
  • Projects implementing regenerative practices

HFFF FY23 Inaugural Grant Cycle Recap

In FY 2023, HFFF awarded more than $500,000 in competitive grants to a range of food enterprises from across the state of New Mexico.

After a rigorous evaluation process, FY23 award winners were selected from EDD regional districts, resulting in the following distribution: 23% (3) of awardees were from district 1; 31% (4) from district 2; 15% (2) from district 3; 8% (1) from district 4; 15% (2) from district 5, and 8% (1) from district 6. To date a total of 13 grants have been successfully administered through the pilot HFFF program.

We are excited to announce the projects receiving grant awards through the inaugural round of the FY23 Healthy Food Financing Fund. Thank you all so much for the innovative and impactful work you are doing in our New Mexico food and agricultural system!

Click here to view the FY23 Awardees.

If you would like to be included in notifications for the Healthy Food Financing Fund, please enter your contact info below.

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