The United Way of Central Maryland is seeking applications for its 2025-26 Food Resiliency Grant Program.
Donor Name: United Way of Central Maryland
State: Maryland
County: Anne Arundel County (MD), Baltimore City (MD), Baltimore County (MD), Carroll County (MD), Harford County (MD), Howard County (MD)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/12/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
United Way of Central Maryland (United Way)’s Food Resiliency Grant is an opportunity for community-based organizations with total annual operating budgets of $500,000 or less in their current Fiscal Year to receive up to $10,000 per year to carry out community-centered projects that are aimed at building food resiliency in the six jurisdictions of Central Maryland: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County, Howard County, and Baltimore City. This initiative recognizes a critical need to build the resiliency of food production sites and increase access to healthy and affordable food in underserved areas.
Central Maryland faces significant challenges related to food access, equity, and sustainability. Many communities experience limited access to fresh, healthy, and culturally appropriate food, contributing to health disparities and food insecurity. Additionally, current food system is vulnerable to disruptions, such as natural disasters, economic shocks, and climate change. This is the first year of United Way’s Food Resiliency Grant opportunity – which focuses on amplifying the power of communities to meet the critical nutritional needs of residents so that they may live healthier and happier lives.
Project Categories
United Way of Central Maryland ask applicants to identify a primary project category, however, projects may address both categories.
- Building Resiliency of Food Production Sites
- Address the causes and systemic challenges within the food supply system that prevent it from being resilient, equitable, and sustainable by directing your work towards the source of food. This approach focuses on improving the foundational elements of food production, processing, and distribution.
- Examples: sustainable agriculture projects, local food procurement, food hubs and aggregation, value-added processing, food system mapping and local data collection, building capacity of organizational leadership and infrastructure.
- Increasing Food Access in Underserved Areas
- Implement strategies and initiatives that ensure all individuals and communities, regardless of their socioeconomic status or neighborhood, have the opportunity to obtain food options at a price they can afford.
- Examples: community gardens, mobile markets, grocery co-ops, healthy corner store initiatives, SNAP/EBT incentives, nutrition education and cooking classes, food recovery and redistribution
Grant Period
January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
United Way will accept applications from organizations with 501(c)(3) or other nonprofit IRS designations, with a total annual operating budget of $500,000 or less in their current fiscal year. United Way will also accept applications from organizations that do not have nonprofit status but are utilizing a Fiscal Agent/Sponsor that does.
Additionally
- Organizations that currently receive other funding from United Way are also eligible to apply.
All organizations seeking funding must:
- Provide evidence that they hold a current “Good Standing Certificate of Status” with the State of Maryland Department of Assessments & Taxation.
- Provide Determination Letter from the IRS.
- Provide a copy (within the last two fiscal years) of one of the following financial documents, based on your annual gross income from charitable contributions from that year. Organizations using a fiscal agent/sponsor must provide this required financial document for their fiscal agent/sponsor.
For more information, visit UWCM.
