Virginia Awards $50K To Fairfax County Farmer's Market Group

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A farmer’s market group in Fairfax County was one of 15 projects across Virginia to receive funds as part of the inaugural round of Virginia Food Access Investment Fund grants.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced the grants Wednesday at an event with the Richmond Food Justice Alliance, which will receive funding to support a new mobile food market with Shalom Farms. The 15 projects selected by the VFAIF will receive a total of more than $620,000.

In Fairfax County, FRESHFARM will receive a $50,000 grant to establish new fresh food mobile markets in “food insecure” areas of Northern Virginia in partnership with the Virginia Farmers Market Association. The farmer’s markets also will produce revenue for family-owned farms in Virginia.

FRESHFARM, the only group in Northern Virginia to receive one of the 15 grants, operate farmers markets that provide economic opportunities to local farmers and food producers, with the additional goal of increasing food access for low-income neighborhoods.

First launched in 2020, the VFAIF provides grants between $5,000 and $50,000 to support business development, construction, rehabilitation, equipment upgrades, or expansion of grocery stores, small food retailers, or innovative food retail projects that increase food access in underserved communities.

The VFAIF follows the equitable food-oriented development model of using food and agriculture to create economic opportunities and healthy neighborhoods in historically marginalized communities.

“At its core, the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund is about addressing the root causes of low food access and increasing equity and justice in our local food systems,” Northam said in a statement Wednesday.

In 2020, Northam signed House Bill 1509, sponsored by Del. Delores McQuinn, and Senate Bill 1073, sponsored by state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, creating the Virginia Food Access Investment Program and Fund.

The VFAIF program supports the Virginia Roadmap to End Hunger, a unified set of goals and strategies to prioritize food security during the current public health emergency and beyond.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 850,000 Virginians were food insecure, including 250,000 children. Rates have increased about 20 percent during the pandemic, with an additional 150,000 Virginians experiencing food insecurity.

In addition to supporting equitable food access, the program works to increase the availability of fresh, healthy foods. VFAIF projects include a food retail component that accepts federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and offers the Virginia Fresh Match nutrition incentives program. Virginia Fresh Match doubles the value of SNAP benefits for fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets, increasing access to healthy foods and supporting local farmers.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services provides technical assistance and works with applicants in developing projects. The VFAIF application can be accessed through the VDACS website.