CEN-TEX Certified Development Corporation
CEN-TEX Certified Development Corporation used HFFI financing to support Salud Corporation (SC), which is a Latina-led, for-profit start-up that manufactures and distributes high-quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to replace unhealthy cooking lard. SC has priced its olive oil at a price point affordable to local Hispanic markets, and it will sell its olive oil both wholesale and retail in Austin, Texas. Bottling began in 2013, and Salud Corporation hopes to have 15 employees by the end of 2014.
Source of money: HFFI CED Program
Neighborhood Housing Services of Dimmit County, Inc.
Neighborhood Housing Services of Dimmit County, Inc. (NHSDC) is using HFFI financing to support loans to healthy food retailers in ten Texas counties in the Middle Rio Grande Valley that lack access to healthy food. The Middle Rio Grande Valley is characterized by substandard housing, high unemployment, low educational attainment, and poverty. HFFI financing will benefit two Empowerment Zone counties (Dimmit and Zavala) and one Native American community (Kikapoo Tribe) in Maverick County. You can find more information here.
Source of money: HFFI CDFI-Financial Assistance Program
ACCION Texas, Inc.
ACCION Texas, Inc. is using HFFI financing to support lending for food retailers in low-income areas throughout Texas. Loans will be provided to small businesses, such as grocery stores, mobile food trailers, farmers’ markets, cooperatives, corner stores, and bodegas. ACCION is concentrating its lending in five counties without accessible fresh food. The counties, three urban and two on the border, are Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, and Hidalgo. Since ACCION is the nation’s largest microlender, loans will likely go to enterprises like food manufacturers, food distributors, food trucks, bakeries, and restaurants committed to making and selling healthy food. You can find more information here.
Source of money: HFFI CDFI-Financial Assistance Program