FRESH Alternatives For Healthy Eating Thanks to New NYC Program

By Loren Talbot with Lynn Fredericks

A unified city and state response to the city’s food deserts has emerged with the introduction of the state run Healthy Food/Healthy Communities Initiative and FRESH (Food Retail Expansion to Support Health), a new citywide program.  On May 16th Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn announced both funding and legislation to help the establishment of supermarkets in underserved neighborhoods within the five boroughs.  The legislation coincided with the release of recommendations by The Food Trust and The New York Supermarket Commission, a coalition convened by The Food Trust, the Food Policy Coordinator for the City of New York, the Food Bank for New York City, the Food Industry Alliance of New York State, and the United Way of New York City with representatives from labor groups, public health advocates, supermarkets and financial institutions as well as city and state agencies. 

The State’s strategy provides a $10 million State revolving loan fund for the creation of food markets.  These loans, drawn from funds made possible through the Community Reinvestment Act, work directly to combat the lack of healthy, fresh food in neighborhoods with inadequate food access.  The new legislation provides additional financial support through matching grants of up to $25,000 for farmer’s market infrastructure through Department of Agriculture & Markets.  These grants will be awarded to projects with a commitment to multi-seasonal operations of NY grown and produced food.  Additionally, financing is available to both for-profit and non-profit developers who propose retail food markets in affordable residential developments under the All-Affordable program. Lastly, the state program provides project insurance for projects funded by the Governor's Healthy Food/Healthy Communities Initiative.  This will reduce the upfront costs on borrowing and gives developers an additional incentive to start building.  In addition to the loans, Governor Paterson announced new incentives for food markets to be designed with high-performance guidelines.  Funding and assistance is available for buildings constructed with energy-efficient and sustainable building principles.

The FRESH initiative was fostered by the success of the first such initiative developed in Pennsylvania through leadership by The Food Trust and operated by them in conjunction with The Reinvestment Fund and Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition.  “In the midst of the childhood obesity epidemic, Pennsylvania's Fresh Food Financing Initiative has been highlighted as an innovative policy solution that increases the amount of affordable nutritious food in underserved communities - places where it's hard to buy a bag of apples. Foundations and local governments across the country have asked us to work in new communities to build support for replications of the Fresh Food Financing Initiative and similar policies that encourage supermarket investment in communities that need it most” said Yael Lehmann, Executive Director of the Food Trust.  As the New York City’s Food Policy Task Force identified supermarket access as a priority, they were eager to collaborate with The Food Trust to convene The New York Supermarket Commission to achieve results in supermarket access similar to those achieved in Pennsylvania . “We know that when people have more opportunities to purchase fresh produce in their neighborhood, they buy more and eat more. So the City has been working with Bodegas, Green Carts Farmers Markets, and now Supermarkets, to increase the availability of produce in New York's Neighborhoods” said Benjamin Thomases, the New York City Food Policy Coordinator.

The City Program, FRESH, offers both tax benefits as well as zoning based incentives to encouraged the development of stores.  Following a 2008 study by the Department of City Planning, the Mayor’s office was able to identify key neighborhoods in need of more access to quality food choices (see the map available here). 

The zoning component of the plan makes exceptions in NYC’s zoning code to encourage more market development.  Potential food store developers are able to plan for additional floor area in mixed residential and commercial buildings.  The floor area ratio allotted in the current zoning code has prohibited or discouraged development of grocery stores in the past.  Additionally, reducing the requirements of parking set in the zoning code can allow for further location exploration.  Lastly, the zoning allows for larger scale as-of-right stores in light manufacturing districts; these working neighborhoods traditionally offer very little in the way of supermarkets and fresh food access. 

The tax benefits for the FRESH program are funneled through the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA), an agency with in the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC).  Similar to the state program, prospective developers are offered financial incentives for grocery store development.  These are offered in the forms of Real Estate Tax Reductions, Sales Tax Exemptions and Mortgage Recording Tax Deferral. 

The incentives offered by both of these programs will hopefully lead to more closed looped systems between those in need of healthy, fresh food and the farmers who provide it.  The discrepancy between neighborhoods with food access and those without is now well documented; these carrots will hopefully not only lure developers to build new, sustainable markets but shoppers to purchase quality foods.  This legislation needs to be followed with education for all ages on food purchasing, preparation and health benefits to make it a truly complete cycle.