State Senators Mattie Hunter and Doris Turner announced new funding opportunities under the Illinois Grocery Initiative. Together, the New Stores in Food Deserts, Equipment Upgrades and Grocery Rescue grant programs represent a $26 million effort to address food deserts and prevent grocery store closures in communities across the state.
“All Illinoisans deserve access to fresh and healthy foods,” said Hunter (D-Chicago). “The Illinois Grocery Initiative is critical to ensuring this goal becomes a reality. I’m thrilled to see the state’s continued investment in these efforts to prevent food insecurities across Illinois.”
The new Grocery Rescue Program will support efforts to reopen stores that have closed within the preceding 12 months. This program is designed to prevent long-term food access loss in low-access tracts, preventing the formation of new food deserts. Funding can be used for store acquisition, repair, refurbishing property and equipment and some first-year operating costs.
The New Stores in Food Deserts Program will support the establishment of new grocery stores in food deserts. This round of funding will integrate a pharmacy component to help to address the lack of access to prescription medications, flu shots and more that confront some communities. These grants will fund construction and renovation costs for new stores as well as operations costs, including employee wages, utility costs and initial inventory of food, for the first two years after opening.
“The Illinois Grocery Initiative has been essential to combating the development of food deserts across the state,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “This next round of funding will build upon the state’s continued efforts to eliminate food deserts and support local grocers, while simultaneously boosting our state’s economy.”
The Equipment Upgrades Program provides funding for energy-efficient equipment upgrades for existing grocery stores, with priority given to those located in food-insecure communities across the state. This program is designed to strengthen existing grocery stores and preserve access to fresh food to prevent the formation of new food deserts.
The Senate Democrat-backed Illinois Grocery Initiative has distributed $19 million in funding since 2024, including nearly $17 million to build eight new grocery stores across the state and $2 million to assist 14 stores with upgrading equipment. The latest round of funding will build on this progress while helping open grocery stores that have recently closed.
Applications for the New Stores in Food Deserts Program will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Dec. 9, while applications for the Grocery Rescue Program and Equipment Upgrades Program will be accepted on a rolling basis.
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