The Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development (HUFED) Center, administered by the Wallace Center at Winrock International, announced this week the first ten recipients of HUFED grants.  The 2008 Farm Bill established the HUFED program to increase food access and economic vitality by stimulating the development of food enterprises in urban and rural areas.

According to John Fisk, the Director of the HUFED Center, the ten grantees “are social enterprises, meaning they are looking for both economic and social outcomes, and are an important step in creating new models for addressing critical needs.”

The ten grantees will receive a cumulative total of $340,512.  Three additional recipients will be announced soon, bringing the total amount awarded to $412,000.  The first ten recipients are as follow:

• Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) – Salinas, Calif.
• D.C. Central Kitchen – Washington, D.C.
• Dixon Cooperative Market—Dixon, New Mexico
• Grass Lake Sanctuary – Manchester, Mich.
• GrowNYC – New York, N.Y.
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy—Minneapolis, Minn.
• La Cocina – San Francisco, Calif.
• Los Angeles Communities Advocating for Unity Social Justice, and Action Inc (LA CAUSA) – Los Angeles, Calif.
• Peta Wakan Tipi – St. Paul, Minn.
• Shagbark Seed and Mill Company – Athens, Ohio

According to USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) National Program Leader Liz Tuckermanty, these ten enterprises will serve as models for other communities and will provide insight into the challenge of eliminating food deserts.

NSAC would especially like to congratulate grant recipients and NSAC member groups, Agriculture and Land-based Training Association (ALBA) and Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).  We look forward to future reports from them as they delve into their projects.