Montgomery County awarded $1,126,100 to 28 community organizations to improve their infrastructure and expand their capacity to provide access to food in the county.
The COVID-19 Emergency Food Assistance Provider Capacity Building Grant awards will support community nonprofit purchases of “refrigerators and freezers, shelving and space enhancements, vehicles, forklifts, hand trucks, computers and software, as well as repairs to existing infrastructure.” The organizations’ are expected to increase community-wide capacity for food assistance distribution and delivery to more than 31,000 homes in the county.
From the press release:
“I am proud to be part of a community where our nonprofit and faith-based organizations work tirelessly to ensure our residents have access to nutritious and culturally appropriate food, especially during this national pandemic,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Providing funding to help these organizations improve their infrastructure and increase their capacity to feed more residents is money well spent.”
Special consideration was given to organizations who formed partnerships to better serve the community and provide culturally diverse food access services. Despite funding limitations more than half of the applications were awarded full or partial funding. As the County’s food security response to the pandemic continues, it is anticipated that additional funds will be made available to further support initiatives that address the significant food security needs of our community.
Organizations could apply for grants up to $85,000, which were then reviewed and awarded by the County’s Food Security Task Force.
