What We Do
We create immediate community impact
and long-term systems change.
Fair Food Network is a national nonprofit and investor that grows community health and wealth through food. We know that entrenched inequities limit many people’s access to money, political momentum, and supportive networks. Our work transforms how those essential resources flow through the food economy, building equity in communities across the country. We currently focus these efforts on two programs: nutrition incentives and impact investing.
Three key strategies inform everything we do. First, we invest in local food businesses and organizations. This involves direct impact investments that support food entrepreneurs, as well as efforts to make SNAP benefits work harder for local grocers and farmers markets. Second, we build collaborative relationships that strengthen our collective capacity and impact; this includes our coalition work with national organizations such as the Nutrition Incentive Hub and our roles within place-based impact investing collectives. Third, we champion restorative policy solutions across the United States—making sure that federal dollars create greater benefits at the community level, and backing the ideas and programs that connect people with the resources they need.
Nutrition Incentives
Fair Food Network builds and supports nutrition incentives that expand healthy food choices and spark economic opportunity. Our Double Up Food Bucks program, which matches SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) benefits spent on fruits and vegetables, began in our home state of Michigan. Since 2009, the program has been adopted by partners around the country, improving healthy food access from coast to coast; it continues to demonstrate the benefits of nutrition incentives for local farmers, retailers, and the people who need their services.
Learn more about our work and impact.
Impact Investing
Working at the intersection of food, health, and economic justice, Fair Food Network fuels the success of food entrepreneurs through catalytic capital, wrap-around business services, and a commitment to place-based impact investing collectives. We focus our investments on people who are most often overlooked by traditional investors, particularly people who have been marginalized due to their race, ethnicity, and/or gender. Together, we’re building thriving communities and a more inclusive economy.
Learn more about our work and impact.
