The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is a national community development financial institution (CDFI) founded in 1979 with a mission to build healthy, sustainable neighborhoods that are communities of choice: good places to work, do business, and raise children. LICS takes a holistic approach to improving community health in underserved places by promoting better housing, education and job opportunities. LISC targets work to shore up fundamental resource every neighborhood needs to keep resident well: easy access to primary health care, affordable, nutritious food and safe recreation spaces. LISC has offices in 32 cities and works with 86 rural partners serving over 2,000 counties in 44 states. 

LISC uses HFFI financing to expand healthy food options in low-supermarket access areas throughout the nation including Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Indianapolis, and Rhode Island. We offer low-cost loans for the development of healthy food retail outlets, which have range from full-service grocery stores to farmers markets.

Projected Impacts
Seven Mile Foods, Detroit, MI, $773,000 loan

• Interior improvements and reconfiguration to support expansion of fresh food offerings
• 25 jobs created/preserved

Park Street Market/Northside Association for Community Development (NACD), Kalamazoo, MI, $650,000 loan

• Support only full-service grocery stores in USDA food desert with 75% low-income residents
• 30 jobs created/preserved
• Anchor for the NACD Healthy Environments, Arts and Learning initiative

Flint Farmers Market/Uptown Reinvestment Corporation, Flint, MI, $1,000,000 loan

• Relocation and expansion of the Flint Farmers Market to a new downtown Health and Wellness District in a food desert and a Flint LISC Strategic Investment Area
• $6.2 million total project costs supported by a range of city, state and philanthropic partners, as well as New Market Tax Credit financing
• Repair and expand existing facility to accommodate growing local demand for fresh food
• Double indoor selling space from 6,000 to 14,000 square feet
• Expand indoor vendor selling space from 31 to 45, with 40 seasonal outdoor vendors, a commercial kitchen and community seating for 200

Royal Fresh Market, Detroit, MI, $1,300,000 loan

• Acquired 24,300 square foot full-service grocery store and made energy-efficient equipment upgrades
• Created/preserved 10 full-time and 25 part-time jobs, many from the local neighborhood

Source of money: HFFI CDFI-Financial Assistance Program; Fiscal year(s): 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Fiscal Year 2012, $3MM, Fiscal Year 2013 ,$3MM, Fiscal Year 2014, $3MM, Fiscal Year 2016, $3MM, Fiscal Year 2017, $1.5MM