Loan to Treasure Coast Food Bank to benefit 100 schools and 400 human service agencies across 4 Florida counties.

Since 1989, the Treasure Coast Food Bank has delivered 45 million meals annually to Treasure Coast residents through a network of human service organizations. Florida Community Loan Fund has provided $1.6 million in financing for a new 9400-square-foot facility. The loan will be used to renovate and equip a food processing facility that will provide food access to families across Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie Counties.

The new facility will launch the Florida Agriculture & Nourishment Collaborative which will purchase fresh fruit and vegetables from 100 local farmers; process and prepare 5 million pounds of produce annually for resale to 100 local schools; and donate to 400 human service agencies to feed families in need. Additionally, the TCFB facility will offer culinary arts training to long-term unemployed adults in the four-county area.

“This first-of-its kind production facility will deliver healthy food options while also achieving positive economic impact by creating income-producing opportunities in these counties,” said FCLF CEO Ignacio Esteban. “We are also excited about the potential of being able to replicate this collaborative model in other areas of Florida.”

The Florida Association of Food Banks estimates there are 40 million pounds of surplus produce annually that food banks across Florida are unable to accept due to capacity challenges.

This a milestone for Florida Community Loan Fund: our first non-retail Food Access project. FCLF’s financing will provide healthy food access for thousands of low-income Floridians and build a sustainable business model for TCFB. FCLF has also helped improve healthy food access in Florida communities through financing to Hitchcock’s Market in Old Town, and Metropolitan Ministries’ Pasco County food distribution center. In 2015, FCLF became the first CDFI in Florida to secure a Healthy Food Financing Initiative Award from the U.S. Department of Treasury CDFI Fund.

Learn more about FCLF and TCFB here, or visit the FANC website here.
Pictured above, architectural rendering of food production facility upon completion.