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Long-Awaited Fresh Food Access for Vinton County, Ohio

By Diana Turoff, President and CEO of Finance Fund Capital Corporation

For nearly four years, the only option for over 13,000 Vinton County residents to buy fresh produce, meat, dairy, and other healthy foods was to travel many miles to another county. That obstacle has been remedied by the long-awaited grand opening of Campbell's Market, a new full-service grocery store located at 630 W. Main Street in McArthur, Ohio.

The new store is the result of a collaborative effort among many partners, including local community members, the Campbell family, Finance Fund Capital Corporation (FCAP), The Food Trust, and representatives from local, state, and federal governments. FCAP, a statewide community development financing institution, provided funding for the project through its Healthy Food for Ohio (HFFO) program. The HFFO program is Ohio’s first ever statewide healthy food financing program and provides flexible financing to eligible rural and urban healthy food retail projects in low-income, underserved areas throughout the state. Through this program, Campbell’s Market received nearly $1.6 million in financing to build a 12,000-square-foot full-service grocery store.

The HFFO program was created by a statewide coalition of nearly 50 health, grocery, business, civic, and economic development leaders who joined together as the Ohio Healthy Food Financing Task Force.  One of the key recommendations coming from the task force was the creation of a financing program such as HFFO, to help grocers overcome the unique barriers they face to open and remain open in underserved areas.

FCAP received over $2 million from the State of Ohio to fund healthy food retail projects statewide through the HFFO program. To date, the HFFO program has invested nearly $5 million for nine healthy food projects, creating almost 200 jobs and providing close to 70,000 Ohioans with much-needed fresh food access. 

Campbell’s Market in McArthur celebrated its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 4. U.S. Congressman Steve Stivers exclaimed, "Today, we get to declare the food desert in Vinton County OVER!"  He thanked a gathering of community members as well as the Campbell family, FCAP President and CEO Diana Turoff, State Representative Ryan Smith, and State Senator Bob Peterson for their impactful contributions that made this project possible. This store has already attracted additional businesses, created over 30 jobs for local residents, and improved the quality of life for this community.

For over 30 years, Finance Fund has connected underserved communities with public and private sources of capital to help spark community development and create jobs in distressed communities statewide. Learn more about Finance Fund at http://www.financefund.org/about-us/ and the Healthy Food for Ohio program in the View Policy Efforts by State section.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Healthy Food Access Portal.

December 2017

County Office

Overview

County Office is your quick reference guide for accurate, up-to-date information about all government offices and public records sources in your local area.

If you're trying to reach city, county, and state government offices anywhere in the Unites States, County Office providers users with accurate, reliable, and up-to-date information available.

This searchable database includes all types of government offices, including administrative, legal, health, tax, finance, commerce, education, property, social services, public works, law enforcement, emergency services, and judicial offices.

December 2017

ResearchWIRE by FRAC

Overview

Food Research & Action Center’s ResearchWire newsletter focuses on the latest research, reports, and resources from government agencies, academic researchers, think tanks, and elsewhere at the intersection of food insecurity, poverty, the federal nutrition programs, and health. This inaugural issue reviews the latest research on the harmful impacts of poverty, food insecurity, and poor nutrition on the health and well-being of children, adults, and older adults. 

Learn more about FRAC at http://frac.org/.

November 2017

Running a Food Hub: Learning from Food Hub Closures

Overview

The fourth volume in the USDA's food hub technical report series, the report draws on national data and case studies to understand why some food hubs have failed in an effort to learn from their mistakes and identify general lessons so new and existing food hubs can overcome barriers to success.  

November 2017

Webinar: Increasing Healthy Food Access through Grocery Stores and Healthy Corner Stores

Overview

The Food Trust's Center for Healthy Food Access presents the second in a series of webinars featuring the work of our grantees.

Increasing Healthy Food Access Through Grocery Stores and Healthy Corner Stores shares lessons learned by national experts who have financed grocery store development and other healthy food retail in low-income urban and rural communities, and community-based grassroots organizations that have provided technical assistance and resources to small stores to help them sell healthy food.

Featured Speakers:

Sajan Philip, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), will discuss how LIIF has worked to increase access to healthy food retail in areas across the U.S. by increasing capital in low-income communities, and share lessons learned while implementing the New York Healthy Food Healthy Communities Initiative.

Juan Vila, The Food Trust, will discuss the work being done through the Good. To. Go. program to increase access to healthy food in corner stores in San José, CA, and elsewhere across the country.

Shamar Hemphill, Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), will discuss IMAN’s work to strengthen relationships between communities and corner store owners in Chicago while starting a healthy corner store initiative.

Mary Elizabeth Evans, Hope Enterprise Corporation, will discuss Hope’s work implementing Healthy Food Financing Initiatives to increase access to fresh food retail in rural and urban areas in the Mid-South.

November 2017

Healthy Food Policy Project

Overview

The Healthy Food Policy Project (HFPP) identifies and elevates local laws that seek to promote access to healthy food, and also contribute to strong local economies, an improved environment, and health equity, with a focus on socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

The Healthy Food Policy Project is a four-year collaboration of Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, the Public Health Law Center, and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. This project is funded by the National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This web site helps healthy food advocates, local policy makers, and local public health agencies in their quest to champion healthy food access in their communities and inclues a curated, searchable database of local healthy food policies.

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