Offers financing programs that help customers benefit from utility incentives and energy savings.

A Denver task force is trying to make sure everyone has access to healthy food. The task force says that low-income communities in Denver often lack access to supermarkets with affordable, healthy food. So they are trying to provide incentives for grocers to open new stores in under served neighborhoods, eliminating food deserts.

The Denver Food Access Task Force made recommendations to the Health, Safety and Education committee of the City Council. It includes prioritizing supermarket development at city hall, and streamlining the permit process for supermarket developers. They also push for a Fresh Food Financing Fund to encourage chains and independent grocers to build in the underserved neighborhoods that have been neglected for many years.

Councilmen Stephen Costello wants Houston's city government to lure supermarkets to neighborhoods with few places to buy produce. He is talking about tax breaks, sales tax rebates, utility subsidies, even using public dollars to buy the land for a private business.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's District Community Affairs Officers report on local and regional opportunities for banks to become involved with community efforts, including opportunities to help finance healthy-food initiatives.

An article describing the Fresh Food Financing Initiative. It describes how the initiative came about and efforts to expand the program nationwide. Case studies and tools are also included.

NCB Capital Impact (Capital Impact) finances healthy-food retail establishments, lending to dozens of independent grocers and natural food cooperatives throughout the country. This article highlights the work of the organization including their success and challenges.

The city of Newark, N.J., is supporting the Healthy Food Financing Initiative and creating local jobs by participating in a partnership financing arrangement that will store and distribute food, including fresh produce.

An overview of federal agencies that support programs to improve healthy food access. The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund and the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture are both highlighted.

An introduction to a series of articles on the community development investments in the financing of healthy-food initiatives. The series explores the growing effort and opportunities to change low-income communities lacking grocery stores into thriving markets and how banks can assist the process with the right financing tools.