Food Security Grants

Grants Totaling $850,000 Help Meet Skyrocketing Need for Food Assistance

oranges drive — *Wearing gloves and masks, volunteers rapidly loaded food from covered tables to car trunks for a contactless transfer during Ramadan in the time of COVID-19*

Augmenting the rapid-response grants made during the initial round of funding from the COVID-19 Response Fund, these grants helped further address mounting food insecurity in our region.

With long lines and limited stock, food banks are struggling to meet skyrocketing demand. These food security grants, which totaled $850,000 and were deployed in late April, complemented the work of the WA Food Fund, providing auxiliary support while our region waits for federal resources to arrive. The grants went to organizations that are helping individuals and families overcome transportation barriers, access culturally specific food, and maintain religious dietary restrictions, such as those observed during Ramadan.

Ballard Food Bank, $50,000
Bellevue Lifespring, $25,000
Community Response Alliance (Coalition of Immigrants Refugees and Communities of Color – CIRCC), $100,000
East African Community Services, $25,000
FareStart, $100,000
Lifelong AIDS Alliance/Chicken Soup Brigade, $25,000
Living Well Kent, $25,000
MAPS-MCRC, $25,000
North Helpline, $50,000
REACH, $50,000
Skyway Coordination (Somali Parent Education Board), $75,000
Sound Generations/Meals on Wheels, $75,000
Tukwila Coordination (Tukwila Children’s Foundation), $75,000
University District Food Bank, $50,000
YWCA, $100,000