In an effort to increase cold storage access for organizations serving food and combat the local hunger issue, United of the Ohio Valley is investing $100,000 in the community by offering grants to nonprofits.
According to a release from United Way, hunger relief strategic planning sessions over the last two years led to organizations identifying priorities for investment. The first of those is to “increase ability to give out more healthy and nutritious food by improving and implementing freezer and refrigeration storage space with frontline not-for-profit organizations.”
So, United Way is giving out grants up to $2,000 each for cold storage units to 501c3 nonprofits providing food services. The grant applications will be accepted March 7-18.
Organizations that are encouraged to apply include:
- Churches and religious organizations operating food pantries and soup kitchens as part of their mission.
- Homeless Shelters and other shelter types that are feeding individuals.
- Soup Kitchens operating on a regular basis.
- Food serving organizations whose primary purpose is feeding the less fortunate and those who don’t know from where their next meal is coming.
To apply for funding click here, download and complete the Cold Storage Grant, and email it to Stephanie Bertram at [email protected]. For questions, call 270-684-0668.
United Way’s Hunger Relief Steering Committee composed of 40+ members established the goals of:
- Awareness — perception, knowledge and information that hunger exist and what hunger is
- Access — consistently and effectively connect hungry people to nutritious food
- Advocacy — improve lives of food-insecure individuals and families by taking action to influence change
“To ensure no person goes hungry, the ‘meal gap’ has to be closed,” the release reads. “To do this we need to increase the amount of food into the system and have the ability to store items such as meat, fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy products.”
