Colorado grant program helps African market offer fresh delicacies

The Colorado Department of Agriculture is offering a new tax credit to increase access to healthy foods. The Community Food Access Tax Credit was passed in the 2023 legislative session in order to increase access to healthy groceries and help to lower costs for the sellers. The legislations makes up to $10 million available every year until 2030. Only small food retails, farm-direct operations and small family farms who are serving low-income, low-access communities will be eligible for the tax credit. 

The new tax credit program is an extension of the Community Food Access Grant program that's been available since 2023. That program has distributed 117 grants in 42 Colorado counties totaling $5 million. 

Kusi Appiah got one of those grants. Appiah and his family have run the Kantamanto African Market in Aurora for the last 11 years. 

"What's your clientele like?" asked CBS News Colorado Anchor Michael Spencer. 

"I deal mostly our clients based on about 95% pure Africans, and then here and there Black Americans... African Americans come in," Appiah said. 

"Why is it important for them to have a place like this to come to?" Spencer followed up.

"They say, 'Now, we have Ghana in America now.' Because when you walk in here you feel like you are in an African market," he responded.

Appiah has been in the United States for about 30 years. He's proud of the little piece of home he's brought to Havana Street.

"Anytime I'm here I feel like I'm in Ghana because I like to talk. Whoever comes here, whether you like to talk or no, I will talk to you," he explained. 

His customers are like family. 

"Sometimes I take my card and I pay for them because if you came to my house and you are hungry, I won't let you go hungry. I would have to feed you. So here is like a home, so that's why we run this business like a family-owned business."

Appiah got a new cooler and a new freezer with his grant money. 

"It meant a lot. It meant savings, already we're saving money," he told CBS News Colorado. 

It was a capital investment that he wouldn't have been able to afford on his own, but saves him money on his energy bill every month. Now he's got plans to replace more of his coolers to create more storage space and save more on his energy bill.

LINK: Community Food Access Program 

The Community Food Access Program is funded in part by State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.