Maryland Department of Agriculture Issues Maryland Food and Agricultural Resiliency Grants

ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 15, 2024)—The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced that eight nonprofits will receive $200,000 in grants from the Maryland Food and Agricultural Resiliency Mechanism Grant Program.

Established in 2023, the grant program is intended to help Marylanders who face food insecurity access healthy food while providing a market for farmers to sell their products. The grant program allows Maryland food banks, charitable emergency food providers, and some nonprofits to request funding to purchase and process surplus, seasonal, or contractual agricultural/seafood products listed in the Certified Local Farm and Fish Program and deliver them to Maryland families in need throughout the year.  The funding priority is to purchase agricultural/seafood products listed in the Certified Local Farm and Chesapeake Invasive Species Provider Directory.

“Recipients of these grants represent programs from the Eastern Shore to the mountains of Maryland,” said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks. “Additionally, this program highlights the State’s efforts to connect farmers and seafood companies with residents who are food insecure.”

A full list of organizations receiving grants can be found at MDA.Maryland.gov.

For more information about this grant program, including information on the next round of grants, please contact MFARM Program Administrator Karen Fedor at Karen.Fedor@Maryland.gov.

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Capital Area Food Bank

$35,000

Farm To Food Bank To Food Insecure Neighbors

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has awarded Meals on Wheels of Takoma Park/Silver Spring a $8,000 grant for their project, “Shared Vision: A More Interconnected, Resilient Community.” The project aims to map the area’s farms and prioritize providers owned by BIPOC or women. This grant will help build new alliances and partnerships with local farms that will last for years beyond the grant’s lifetime.

The funds will be used to purchase food from local purveyors to help meet the needs of their kitchen. They work to provide two fresh meals daily to their 150 clients. In coordination with the provider, they plan to rent a truck to transport the food products to their kitchen. Everything they purchase will be used within the following two or three days.

Enoch Pratt Free Library

$12,000

Enoch Pratt Free Library Community Refrigerators

The Enoch Pratt Free Library has received a $12,000 grant from the Maryland Food and Agricultural Resiliency Mechanism Grant Program to launch the Enoch Pratt Free Library Community Refrigerators project. The project aims to distribute 2,000 pounds of food each month in three locations – Brooklyn, Orleans Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue. Moon Valley Farm will deliver 500 pounds of food each week to these locations, and the library staff and volunteers will organize distribution to library customers and the community. The program will be available on a first-come, first-served basis until it runs out each week, reaching approximately 500 individuals each month.

Maryland Food Bank

$50,000

Moving Local Agriculture to Help Our Neighbors in Need

The Maryland Food Bank will utilize its $50,000 grant to help Marylanders in need by covering the cost of warehouse and transportation for a portion of the food purchased in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and independent local farm-to-food-bank work. The grant will leverage the Department of Agriculture collaboration and expanded farm-to-food bank investment to cover the cost of surplus, seasonal, or contractual agricultural/seafood products listed in the Certified Local Farm and Fish Program, providing a market for farmers to sell their products while helping those in need.

Meals on Wheels of Takoma Park/Silver Spring

$8,000

Shared Vision: A More Interconnected, Resilient Community

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has awarded Meals on Wheels of Takoma Park/Silver Spring a $8,000 grant for their project, “Shared Vision: A More Interconnected, Resilient Community”. The project aims to map the area’s farms and prioritize providers owned by BIPOC or women. This grant will help build new alliances and partnerships with local farms that will last for years beyond the grant’s lifetime.

The funds will be used to purchase food from local purveyors to help meet the needs of their kitchen. They work to provide two fresh meals daily to their 150 clients. In coordination with the provider, they plan to rent a truck to transport the food products to their kitchen. Everything they purchase will be used within the following two or three days.

The organization serves 135 homebound neighbors in its community. Partnerships with many local businesses and organizations provide them with multiple channels and access to food to meet their daily service needs. The organization is seeking funding to help it manage and increase its food supply to meet the overwhelming daily demands of its clients and clients-to-be.

Mountain Laurel Medical Center dba Western Maryland Healthcare Corp

$35,000

Western Maryland Fresh Food Initiative

Mountain Laurel Medical Center dba Western Maryland Healthcare Corp plans to use its $35,000 grant to launch the Western Maryland Fresh Food Initiative in partnership with Garrett Growers Cooperative. The initiative aims to bring local fresh food and non-perishable staple food to the residents of small communities in Garrett County. Once a week, Garrett Growers will deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to designated areas determined by Mountain Laurel Medical Center to provide residents with the opportunity to have fresh produce and staple foods. Beneficiaries of the program will be rural, low-income residents in Garrett and Allegany counties who are struggling to access quality food.

Real Food for Kids

$23,000

Real Food for Kids has received a $23,000 grant to alleviate nutrition insecurity in Prince George’s County through its Connecting Farms to Schools program. The program aims to purchase 75 mixed seasonal produce bags bi-weekly from Shlagel Farms in 2024 and distribute them to three Title I schools in Prince George’s County for families in need. Produce bags will be created and delivered directly to the schools by Shlagel Farms, providing access to fresh and healthy food options.

The Salvation Army of Cambridge

$15,000

Emergency Food & Mobile Meals Program

The Salvation Army of Cambridge has been granted $15,000 to launch its Emergency Food & Mobile Meals Program, aimed at addressing the critical issue of food insecurity in the area of Cambridge, Maryland. The project will purchase fresh food from Emily’s Produce and support the House of Hope Day Services Center takeaway program, which offers nutritious food items to individuals and families facing immediate food shortages every day at the central location. Additionally, every Thursday, the mobile meals program delivers hot, nutritious meals to vulnerable populations who may have difficulty accessing or traveling for traditional food resources.

Westminster Rescue Mission

$22,000

Harvesting Hope: Nourishing Communities

Westminster Rescue Mission has received a grant of $22,000 to launch its Harvesting Hope: Nourishing Communities project. With this project, the mission aims to address food insecurity in Carroll County, Maryland by supplementing the food it currently sources with additional provisions of fresh, healthy, and nutritious foods from Chesapeake Farm to Table. The mission plans to purchase, transport, process, and store food at its facility, and then redistribute it to downstream partner organizations that operate food pantries and soup kitchens serving the Carroll County community. This initiative will allow the mission to select foods based on the needs of the community, rather than solely relying on donations, which do not always fulfill the needs of the community.

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