Sec. 204. National fund manager
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The Secretary shall select the national fund manager through a competitive process from among community development financial institutions that have a proven and recent track record of success and effectiveness in— attracting private capital; developing and managing programs that provide grants and loans to support supermarkets and other healthy food retailers in low- and moderate-income areas, including the development of grocery stores, farmers markets, and other healthy food retailer models; making and servicing loans that are similar to loans proposed in the Initiative or having a record of otherwise successfully investing in the development of healthy food retailers; effectively managing multiple contracts and subcontractors; effectively managing large capital pools, of at least $100,000,000; and providing or contracting for the provision of technical assistance.
The designated national fund manager shall— raise other forms of financial assistance to match or leverage the national funds; use administrative funds to develop appropriate training programs and offer technical assistance services to— partnerships; State, local, and tribal governments; the food retail industry; and food access and health advocacy organizations to augment local capacities; develop financial products such as loans, grants, and credit enhancement tools that can be used by partnerships to incentivize and support the development and retention of supermarkets and other healthy food retailers in underserved areas; award Initiative funds to eligible partnerships through an annual competitive process in accordance with section 205(d); contract with a national food access organization to assist in the review of applications from partnerships and to provide technical assistance to local food access organizations in the proposed partnerships; award and disburse funds to partnerships or eligible local projects in a timely manner; create and meet performance benchmarks and reporting guidelines, as approved by the Secretary, including for— the amount of capital raised and leveraged from financial institutions, partnerships, and other resources; the geographic diversity of partnerships; and the proportion of projects funded by the partnership that are in severely distressed low-income communities; develop program guidelines and operating procedures for the Initiative, including— maximum grant and loan amounts for projects; eligible uses of funds; prudent underwriting criteria; performance targets; reporting guidelines; limits on administrative costs; and implementation milestones; monitor the performance of partnerships; and collect data, compile information, and conduct such research studies as the national fund manager determines to be relevant to the successful implementation of the Initiative, including— to assess national and local market conditions; to determine barriers to market entry; and to identify opportunities for the development or retention of supermarkets and other healthy food retailers in underserved communities.
Not later than 45 days after the date of receipt of an award, the national fund manager shall develop, with guidance from and in consultation with the Secretary, and submit to the Secretary, a detailed work plan. The Secretary shall review and approve the work plan, program budget, and administrative costs under subsection (e)(4)(C) prior to entering into an agreement with the national fund manager to administer the Initiative.