The California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) is excited to announce approximately $9 million in funding for 103 Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program projects across the state.

The purpose of the Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program is to improve access to healthy foods in underserved communities, while promoting California-grown agriculture. The program addresses food insecurity and the lack of accessible fresh fruits and vegetables among low-income Californians through supporting small businesses and food donation programs with refrigeration equipment to expand their selection of California-grown offerings. Additionally, the program encourages grantees to foster relationships with local farmers and ranchers.

These projects represent 43 corner stores and small businesses, 45 food donation programs, and 15 cities, counties, nonprofits, and government organizations providing technical assistance on behalf of an estimated 168 stores.

• View the full list of awarded 2023 projects
• View the 2023 Equipment RFA in English and Spanish

A Geographical Representation of 2023 Awardees

Click on the icons to learn more about each project.

CDFA-F2F hosted a public comment period from November 21 – December 12, 2022. Stakeholder feedback was used to finalize the RFA and will inform future RFA development.

• View the recording of the listening session in English and Spanish
• View the Summary of Public Comments and CDFA Responses in English and Spanish
• View the Listening Session presentation slides in English and Spanish

  *Please note: Due to program delays and California state budget cuts, the dates, timelines, and funding amounts listed in the recordings and slides may be inaccurate.

CDFA–F2F held an RFP seeking technical assistance providers to offer outreach, application assistance, and technical expertise to equipment applicants in April 2022, and seven grant awards were announced in July 2022. View a copy of the RFP, Questions and CDFA responses, and a summary of comments and questions submitted and CDFA responses during the public comment period. Grantees include:

• California Green Business Network, a nonprofit that conducted statewide outreach and application assistance as well as worked intensively in several sites, providing hands-on technical expertise
• Community Environmental Council, a nonprofit that conducted outreach and application assistance in low-income and low-food access parts of the south-central coast, in English, Spanish, and Mixtec
• County of San Diego Agriculture, Weights & Measures, a county that conducted outreach and application assistance for area stores in eight languages, leveraging food security work and familiarity with local small businesses
• Contra Costa Health Services, a county that provided outreach, application assistance and technical expertise for retailers in Bay Point
• Effecterra, a small business that offered statewide refrigeration expertise to applicants and created lasting, informative resources for the program
  • Effecterra is available for current grantees to answer any unusual or remaining questions about equipment that cannot be answered using the resources provided in the RFA. Submit an inquiry here.
  • Note: Technical Assistance requests, via the form, will be gathered and responded to in batches, and common queries will be combined as FAQs to be shared as a reference for all current and future grantees. This does mean response times may not be immediate.
• High Sierra Energy Foundation, a nonprofit that offered outreach and application assistance as well as technical expertise in 14-16 rural, hard to reach counties
• Porchlight Community Services, a nonprofit that conducted outreach and application assistance targeting food donation programs in the San Diego region

Approximately $4.5 million in grants was awarded during the pilot program. See Round I Grant Awards and Round II Grant Awards for details.

Energy saving tips:

1. Select refrigerated cases with doors to save energy, but if an open unit is necessary (such as for lack of sliding door options and lack of space for hinged doors), use energy saving solutions such as night curtains.
2. If you are replacing your current refrigeration system/unit with a new system/unit, ensure that the system/unit is properly decommissioned (i.e., no pipes are cut before being pumped down by a technician) and the refrigerant gas is properly recovered and sent for reclamation, recycling, or destruction to ensure that refrigerant gas emissions are not released, which are extremely harmful to the environment.

Tips for selecting a refrigeration system/unit:

1. Past grantees recommend choosing a refrigeration unit with bright lighting to draw customers to it (should use LED lights).
2. Think of the products you want to stock in the new refrigerated cases and keep their measurements in mind when selecting a unit to ensure the shelves are long/deep enough to fit the products.
3. Refrigerated cases with doors are easier for customers to open compared to sliding doors but require an appropriate amount of space for people to pass with the door(s) open.
4. Consider the use of a Temperature Monitoring system to be to your refrigeration unit. These systems monitor temperatures at all times and deliver an uninterrupted measurement, automatically logging record data that can be used for food safety reporting and compliance, as well as generate instant alerts if temperatures rise above a given safety threshold.

Tips for refrigeration installation process:

1. Determine and plan in advance whether building doors will need to be removed in order to move new equipment in, and ramps and/or specialist equipment may be needed to navigate uneven ground, curbs, doorways, or changes in level or steps and stairs.
2. Find out whether unloading and installing new equipment in its place is part of the purchase – and try to use a turnkey solution that includes everything part of the process including recycling the old refrigerator and disposing of the old refrigerant properly.

Suggestions of where to place refrigeration system/unit:

1. Place the refrigerated display case next to the cash registers so customers can make last minute purchases while checking out.
2. Creating a produce section by placing refrigerated produce next to unrefrigerated produce has helped some stores to feel more like a market rather than a convenience store.
3. Place the refrigerated case where customers can not miss it, such as towards the front of their store so it is the first thing customers see when they walk in.
4. Decide where to install your refrigerated case based on usual customer foot traffic as well as increasing their access to the refrigerator.

Tips to sell more fruits and vegetables:

1. Have the produce displayed nicely in the refrigerated case – for example, place produce in baskets and/or organize it by type of fruit/vegetable.
2. Stock one type of fruit/vegetable per refrigerated shelf so it’s easier for customers to find what they’re looking for.
3. Stocking grab-and-go foods like bananas, apples, pre-made salads, and pre-cut veggies encourages customers to buy produce vs purchasing snacks such as candy and chips.
4. The most important characteristics past grantees said their customers look for when purchasing fruits and vegetables are freshness, quality, and affordability.
5. Many past grantees said customers appreciated the fact they could help support local farmers by purchasing California-grown produce at their store.

Past grantees recommendations for stocking the refrigerated cases:

1. Place fruits and vegetables in the refrigerated display case based on what would go bad the fastest to avoid waste and spoilage.
2. Stock items that are in season because they may be cheaper to buy and taste fresher.
3. Stock produce that is culturally relevant to the dishes your customers cook.
4. When starting out, only stock a small quantity of produce because you can buy more produce as needed rather than stocking too much that doesn’t sell.
5. Identify whether the produce you’re buying is California-grown by looking at a sticker or label directly on the item or on the box it’s sent in or by talking directly to your vendor.

Other recommendations from past grantees:

1. Create simple shelf tags, posters, and other marketing materials to promote new items and store changes to your customers.
2. Teach your customers how to cook with different fruits and vegetables sold in your store and share recipes for the items customers are purchasing.
3. Work with other healthy retail initiatives in your area to get assistance updating your store to better display produce and improve the overall atmosphere for customers.

View the full Quick Tips document (English / Spanish ) on equipment selection, installation, and use for more helpful refrigeration and healthy retail tips

View NASRC Contractor Directory (English / Spanish ) for a partial list of contractors who could provide turnkey solutions for purchasing, installation, and recycling equipment

Refrigeration appliances may contain materials that can be harmful to human health and the environment if they are not properly removed and recycled. California law requires that major appliances such as refrigeration units and their refrigerants be properly removed and managed.

The basic requirements of proper appliance recycling include the following:

1. Materials that Require Special Handling (MRSH) must be removed prior to processing (including crushing and bailing) major appliances for scrap metal (PRC § 42175.1; HSC § 25212)
2. A person who intends to remove MRSH must obtain certification from the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) (HSC § 25211.1)
3. Certain documentation must accompany discarded appliances to ensure that MRSH are removed by a Certified Appliance Recycler (CAR) (HSC § 25211.3)

View DTSC's Certified Appliance Recycler (CAR) program website here

View DTSC’s list of approved Certified Appliance Recyclers by city here.

• Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (FARE Fund) is a new program under America’s expanded Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). The program aims to increase access to healthy foods in communities underserved by grocery stores and ensures that everyone has access to affordable foods while also supporting local farmers and ranchers. Over the next 5 years, the new program will provide $60 million in loans, grants, and technical assistance for the predevelopment, planning, and implementation of eligible food retail and food retail supply chain projects including refrigeration equipment. Potential projects can check for eligibility and sign up to be notified when the program begins accepting applications.
  • Eligible projects must plan to expand or preserve the availability of staple and perishable foods in underserved areas with low and moderate-income populations, and if the project involves retail sales, accept benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. This USDA program aims to help lower the cost of energy costs for small businesses and agricultural producers by increasing the private-sector supply of renewable energy, and by decreasing the demand for energy through energy efficiency improvements. Funds can be used for cooling and refrigeration units, as well as many other renewable energy systems. Rural small businesses and agricultural producers in California can check their eligibility and learn how to apply.
• The Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) implements energy savings programs on a regional level in collaboration with the nine Bay Area counties. They offer rebates, funding, and technical assistance to help residents, property owners, business owners and local governments improve the resource-efficiency and carbon footprint of their buildings. BayREN Business offers incentives to local small businesses for energy upgrade projects including energy efficient HVAC, refrigeration, LED lighting, water heating, and more. Small business owners located in the Bay Area can check for eligibility and learn how to apply.