Kansas Healthy Food Initiative

khfi@k-state.edu
khfi@ksu.edu
785.532.6868

The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative (KHFI) offers technical assistance and financing designed to increase access to affordable, healthy food to improve the health and economic development of communities in Kansas.

Projects should be:

• Committed to healthy foods
• Carried out in low-resource and underserved areas
• Led by experienced operators
• Integrated with community needs

Technical assistance may include:

• Funding options for grocery store improvements
• Business development resources
• Wholesale distribution contacts
• Produce and food safety
• Food access information for media outlets
• Point of sale and technology
• Food policy council connections
• Connections with other stakeholder groups and/or local projects

Loans, grants and loan/grant mixes may be used for real estate acquisition, predevelopment, construction, rehabilitation, equipment and infrastructure. Preference is given to projects that identify financial resource partners such as community foundations, local banks or federal loan/grant programs.

KHFI Guidebook

KHFI Fact Sheet

Eligible projects may be, but are not limited to:

• For-profit business enterprises
• Nonprofit corporations
• Agricultural cooperative corporations
• Public benefit corporations
• Municipal corporations
• Regional market facilities
• Public food cooperatives without membership fees

Applicants may be, but are not limited to:

• Grocery store developers and/or owners (national chain, regional chain, singular retail outlet, small neighborhood store)
• Food distributors
• Local food producers
• Innovative food access entrepreneurs
• Nonprofit organizations
• City and county governments
• Alternative food projects, such as a farmers market or food hub

KHFI provides funding in the form of loan/grant funding mixes, which are typically composed of 15% grant funding and 85% loan financing, with grant caps dependent on total request.

For Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) projects, loan/grant funding mixes are composed of 20% grant funding and 80% loan financing, with grant caps dependent on total request.

Loan financing terms:

• Up to $2.5 million
• 1-15 year terms
• Competitive interest rates, based on available collateral
• Flexible loan structure

Email khfi@ksu.edu to begin the application process.