Chinese Culture and Community Service Center

8.19.2020 MC Food Assistance Provider Capacity Building Grants Awarded to 28 Community Organizations

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Montgomery County has awarded $1,126,100 to 28 local food assistance providers to improve their infrastructure and expand their capacity to provide food access to hard-to-reach communities in Montgomery County during the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This program was funded by the Federal CARES Act as appropriated by the County Executive and Montgomery County Council, the Community Food Rescue mini-grants program, and the newly launched Food Security Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation.

The COVID-19 Emergency Food Assistance Provider Capacity Building Grant is a partnership between the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Montgomery County Food Council (MCFC), the Healthcare Initiative Foundation (HIF), and the Greater Washington Community Foundation (The Community Foundation). The County’s Food Security Task Force, formed by the County's Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS), reviewed and determined all grant awards. The HIF and The Community Foundation are the fiscal agents for the program and will award the money.

These 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. Funded investments will directly expand these organizations’ ability to store and transport larger quantities of shelf-stable and cold-stored food and are estimated to increase community-wide capacity for food assistance distribution and delivery to over 31,000 households.

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.

Nonprofit organizations were eligible to apply for up to $85,000. The organizations receiving grants, ranging from $1,075 to $85,000, are:

  • Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington, Inc.
  • American Diversity Group
  • Bethesda Cares
  • Caribbean Help Center, Inc
  • Chinese Culture and Community Service Center, Inc.
  • Clifton Park Baptist Church
  • Damascus HELP Inc.
  • Guru Gobind Singh Foundation
  • Indonesian American Association
  • Islamic Center of Maryland
  • Kingdom Fellowship African Methodist Episcopal Church
  • Kings & Priests Court International Ministries Inc.
  • Liberty Grove United Methodist Church
  • Manna Food Center
  • Meals on Wheels of Takoma Park and Silver Spring
  • Montgomery County Muslim Foundation
  • Nourish Now Inc
  • Rainbow Community Development Center
  • Shepherd's Table
  • Small Things Matter
  • So What Else, Inc.
  • Southern Bethany Baptist Church
  • Camillus Church Food Pantry
  • The Living Legends Awards for Service to Humanity
  • The Salvation Army
  • Up 2 Us Foundation
  • Vietnamese Americans Services, Inc.
  • Women Who Care Ministries

DHHS, along with Montgomery County Public Schools, MCFC, and a network of over 110 local food assistance providers and community partners have been working during the COVID-19 pandemic to address the dramatically increased need for food assistance across the county. To address food insecurity and plan for a greater need, OEMHS created the Food Security Task Force, made up of County staff, community partners and food assistance recipients to create and implement a comprehensive and innovative Food Security Response Strategy.