The City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) is accepting applications to provide funding to one nonprofit (i.e. 501(c)(3) organization to serve as a lead delegate agency for the Community Growers Program.
Donor Name: Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection
State: Illinois
City: Chicago
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/21/2022
Size of the Grant: $2.1 million
Details:
There are two main goals of this program:
- Reduce barriers to urban agriculture by supporting urban growers with access to land, resources to build long-term urban agriculture sites, and technical support.
- Increase equitable community access to healthy foods by creating new food access points in communities experiencing food insecurity.
The lead agency will manage the development and implementation of 25-30 urban agriculture sites by providing financial and technical assistance to urban growers (“sub-grantees”) to support existing urban agricultural sites and build urban gardens and farms on vacant lots, with a goal of increasing availability of and access to healthy food in communities facing high levels of food insecurity to low-moderate income communities Neighborhoods that are predominantly low-income communities have less access to healthy food and experience greater food insecurity and food-related illnesses.
This has persisted over time because food insecurity, limited healthy food access, poverty, and racism are inextricably linked. This issue has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to increases in food insecurity across the nation and in Chicago. According to a recent report from the Chicago Food Depository, more than 16% of households experience food insecurity. Among Latinx and Black communities the rates of food insecurity are at 24% and 29%, respectively.
Funding Information
The total amount of funding available for this program is approximately $2.1 million.
Eligibility Criteria
There must be one lead applicant, however, organizations may choose to subcontract with additional organizations to deliver components of the program. The lead applicant must meet the following criteria:
- Be a non-profit organization (i.e., 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6))
- Have headquarters in the City of Chicago
- Have at least 5 years of experience in the field of urban agriculture
- Have at least 5 years of experience in providing technical assistance on urban agriculture projects
- Have fiscal capacity and sufficient cash-on-hand to operate the program on a reimbursement basis
For more information, visit CBACP.
