Reinvestment Fund Project Profile: The Fresh Grocer at Progress PlazaIn 2009, TRF financed a new Fresh Grocer supermarket in North Philadelphia's Progress Plaza. The store increased access to fresh food in a low-income community that had been without a supermarket for more than a decade.
The new 46,000 square foot, full-service supermarket brings affordable healthy food choices to the community, as well as 272 jobs. To date, 80% of the supermarket's full-time jobs have been filled by residents from the surrounding neighborhood.
The supermarket has several green features, including efficient refrigeration systems that boast a 40% reduction in energy consumption over comparable systems. The supermarket also has an energy management system that continually monitors power consumption in every device and automatically adjusts systems to minimize energy consumption based on daylight, temperature and shopping traffic.
Reinvestment Fund Project Profile: Fare & SquareFare & Square is the first supermarket to open in Chester, PA, a food desert, in 12 Years. It is also the nation's first non-profit supermarket.
Operated by Philabundance, the Delaware Valley's largest nonprofit hunger-relief organization, the Fare & Square grocery store will bring approximately 14,000 square feet of food retail space to Chester.
Reinvestment Fund's financing of the Fare & Square project is the culmination of numerous attempts to attract healthy food retailers to this severely distressed area.
Reinvestment Fund also partnered with Nonprofit Finance Fund to provide New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing to support this project. The NMTC financing helped Philabundance acquire and renovate the grocery store property. The project has also attracted considerable support through a range of philanthropic and private institutions including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, Sunoco and Wawa.
TRF Projet Profile: Bottino's ShopRiteIn 2012, the New Jersey Food Access Initiative (NJFAI) provided financing to support the construction of a 79,000-square-foot retail center in Vineland, New Jersey, anchored by a Bottino's ShopRite supermarket. Investors in the NJFAI include Living Cities, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and The Reinvestment Fund (TRF). - See more at: http://www.trfund.com/bottinos-shoprite/#sthash.BWQ3xGU2.dpuf
TRF Project Profile: Mariposa Food Co-OpIn 2010, The Reinvestment Fund provided financing to Mariposa Food Co-op to acquire and renovate its new facility in West Philadelphia. This member-owned food cooperative sells fresh produce and educates consumers on the benefits of healthy eating.
The new store is five times the size of the former space and offers an expanded selection of locally-produced, organic and conventional products. The facility also includes a community meeting. Mariposa's expansion means a significant transformation for the organization, but also deeper contributions to the local and regional economy. With considerably more space and more customers, Mariposa will be able to expand its product lines and buying power, further supporting regional farmers and distributors of healthy and sustainable food. Since Mariposa Food Co-op is owned and operated by its members, profits will stay in the neighborhood.
