Jaffrey Seeks $500,000 Grant to Outfit New Monadnock Food Co-op

The town of Jaffrey is applying for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant, which would eventually be used to help outfit a Monadnock Food Co-op grocery store in town.

The Monadnock Food Co-op, a community-owned grocery store based in Keene, has announced plans to open a second store in the former Rite Aid on the corner of Routes 124 and 202.

The Food Co-op has previously announced its intention to launch a funding drive this summer to help finance the project. One piece of that could be the Community Development Block Grant funds, which would specifically be used to outfit the store with equipment.

Jack Ahearn, a planner and grant specialist with the Southwest Regional Planning Commission who is assisting the town in writing the grant request, said the funds will be used to purchase items such as coolers, display stands, shelving, and cooking equipment for the store’s hot food section.

Community Development Block Grants, available through the state’s Community Development Finance Authority, are available annually for activities that directly benefit low- and moderate-income people in the areas of housing, economic development, microeconomic development, or feasibility studies.

The cap for requests for economic development projects is $500,000, the amount Jaffrey is requesting. Ahearn said it is not unusual for Community Development Block Grants to request the entirety of available funds.

Jaffrey Development Projects Coordinator Jo Anne Carr said the intent is for Jaffrey to apply for the grant, which will be subgranted to the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation to administer the funds to the Monadnock Food Co-Op.

“It’s a bit of a complicated web,” said Carr.

Carr described the town as a facilitator of receiving the funds, but ultimately, aside from administrative fees to the Southwest Planning Commission, the funds will ultimately end up in the hands of the Co-op. There is no cost to the town of Jaffrey except staff labor.

Ahearn said the grant is expected to be submitted by September, and it typically takes three to four months before the town is notified whether it has been selected to receive the funds. If the town receives the funds, the Monadnock Food Co-op would be able to utilize them in the late winter or early spring of 2027.

As part of the process, the town will hold three consecutive public hearings on Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Jaffrey Town Hall. The public is encouraged to attend and provide feedback. The first public hearing will be on the proposed grant. The following two hearings will be to review and re-adopt the town’s Housing and Community Development Plan and the Residential Anti-displacement and Relocation Plan. These plans are required for the town to receive the grant funding. Carr said the documents already existed and had been reviewed and updated in anticipation of the process.

Anyone who wishes to submit written comment for the public comment process can do so at Jaffrey Select Board, 28 Main St., Jaffrey, or by emailing jzola@townofjaffrey.com.