The Food Trust is funded by private foundations, government grants, and individual donors.
The organization proceeded to open its first farmer's market at Tasker Homes, a public housing development in the Grays Ferry neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Once a week, with the help of the Tasker Homes Tenant Council, the organization's small staff set up one long table of produce.
"People hadn't seen that kind of quality produce in their neighborhood before," The Food Trust founder Duane Perry recalls.
It has provided funding for 88 fresh-food retail projects in 34 Pennsylvania counties, creating or preserving more than 5,023 jobs.