Worcester County Food Bank Fund to End Hunger

Important Update for Nonprofits!
As the Foundation seeks to respond to the COVID-19 emergency, we are placing some of our granting programs on temporary hold, and redirecting others to support crisis response.

The 2020 Worcester County Food Bank Fund to End Hunger will NOT be accepting applications this year as the fund's proceeds are being redirected to the Worcester Together: Central Mass COVID-19 Fund. We thank the Worcester County Food Bank for their generous contribution to relief efforts!

If you have any questions, please contact Program Officer Sarah Shugrue.

The Fund to End Hunger awards grants to nonprofit organizations that share the vision of creating hunger-free communities and work towards that goal. The Fund seeks to fund innovative and sustainable solutions to the problem of hunger through advocacy and programs that incorporate practices that have shown promise throughout the country or here in Worcester County.

An advisory committee has been established to review proposals and recommend grants from the fund.

Areas of Interest

The Fund to End Hunger was established in 2011 to support hunger-relief organizations that provide direct service as well as anti-hunger advocacy organizations. The following areas are funding priorities:

Access to Healthy Food

Examples include initiatives that improve:

• the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through advocacy. Advocacy includes efforts to increase SNAP funding and expand utilization among income eligible households.
• the quality of and access to child nutrition programs (school meals, summer meals, after-school meals, and the Women, Infant, and Child Nutrition Program known as WIC)
• the quality of and access to senior nutrition programs (meals on wheels, etc.)
• community food and nutrition resources for households with limited resources including farmers’ markets and community gardens 

Economic Self Sufficiency

Examples include:

• Educational and job readiness initiatives that support individual or household self-sufficiency
• Skill development programs such as nutrition-based cooking and budgeting that support individuals and households in maximizing their financial resources
• Initiatives that create jobs

The fund will also consider requests for the purchase of equipment for food handling and storage. Quotes required.

Scope and Limitations

• Grant amounts will generally not exceed $3,000. Exceptional grant applications may be awarded more money. 
• The Fund will consider requests for the purchase of equipment for food handling and storage.
• Any purchases for items $50 or more require quotes from 3 vendors.
• Requests for food purchases and personal care/household items will not be considered. Exceptions for food may be permitted if the food purchase is for educational purposes (cooking demonstration, nutrition education).
• It is not the intent of the Fund to become a long-term funder (3 years or more) of operational costs for any one program.
• The Fund welcomes applications from the Hunger-Free Network of the Worcester County Food Bank and other 501(C) (3) non-profit organizations with programs in Worcester County. 

Application Forms & Instructions

The application form is online. The first time an organization applies to the Foundation through our online application system, it creates an Organization Account to use for each application going forward. Please use the same account you have previously used, or create a new one if this your first time applying online. You may contact Foundation staff to find out if your organization already has an account in our system.