Grant Opportunities for Food System Organizations and Businesses

Grant opportunities for food assistance partners:

• Food for Montgomery Resilience Building Grant Opportunity: This funding RFP through the Greater Washington Community Foundation is for nonprofit partners committed to building a more resilient, efficient, nimble, and equitable food security system across Montgomery County. Specifically, this Resilience Building grant opportunity will focus on helping partners pivot, collaborate, and/or innovate their food security work.
  • Applications are due by Tuesday, September 28 at 5PM.
• School Delivery Grants: In order to help meet the challenges of this school year, DoorDash’s Project Dash in partnership with No Kid Hungry is excited to launch an open call for schools, school nutrition services, and other school-adjacent organizations to leverage DoorDash last-mile logistics to help meet their students’ needs during the 2021-22 school year.
  • Qualifying organizations are encouraged to apply by completing the No Kid Hungry x Project DASH application form by 9/30. 

• Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI) COVID-19 Relief Fund: Primary Care Coalition is partnering with the Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI), a division of Montgomery County Government’s Department of Health and Human Services, to provide COVID-19 related services including, but not limited to, outreach, testing and vaccinations, education, mental health, anti-harassment/anti-hate, and social service support for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Montgomery County.

  • Application Deadline: October 15, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. (EDT)

• The W. K. Kellogg Foundation: Accepts healthy kids and community/civic engagement grant applications throughout the year with no submission deadline.

• Nonprofit, Interest Free, Micro Bridge Loan Account (NIMBL): This interest-free, micro bridge loan program and fund supports the operations of nonprofit entities. The program is administered by the Maryland Nonprofit Development Center and the Maryland Department of Commerce.
  • • The program provides short-term financing support to qualifying nonprofit entities between the award date of a government contract and the actual receipt date of those awarded funds. 
    • Application accepted on a rolling, first-come, first-served basis.
• Open Road Alliance Charitable Grants: This grant is for organizations engaging in direct COVID-19 response. They will prioritize organizations and activities that have a clear and direct role in ‘flattening the curve’ and thus limiting, shortening, or minimizing the economic and social, as well as health effects of the pandemic.
  • Organizations can apply for up to $100,000 and can cover any geography and any sector, providing they can demonstrate that they are directly contributing to ‘flattening the curve’ in their community.

Grant opportunities for food businesses and farms:

• Big Green Jumpstart Grant: Schools who already have a garden, are teaching in the garden or have plans to do so soon, and need more funds to engage more kids in outdoor learning can apply for this exciting new opportunity!
  • Application Deadline: September 15
• Commercial, Industrial & Agricultural Grant Program: The Maryland Energy Administration (“MEA”) is providing the Fiscal Year 2022 Commercial, Industrial & Agricultural Grant Program (“FY22 CI&A Program”) to Maryland commercial, industrial, farms, and other agricultural entities for the implementation of energy efficiency improvement projects to their facilities.
  • Application Deadline:

    • Application Period 1: July 27th – October 27, 2021.  Applications are due by 11:59 P.M. on October 27th.  Applications will be reviewed on a competitive basis by an Evaluation Team. Award announcements will be made as applications are competitively selected for award.

    • Application Period 2:  October 28th – December 28, 2021. Applications are due by 11:59 P.M. on December 28th.  Applications will be reviewed on a competitive basis by an Evaluation Team. Award announcements will be made as applications are competitively selected for award.

    Good Food Doing Good Microgrant Program: This grant opportunity provides up to $2,500 in funding to individual food entrepreneurs and/or including food growers, and up to $7,500 in funding to 501(c)3 nonprofit cooperatives, culinary incubators, and/or workforce development programs to build capacity to scale their products more broadly.

  • Preference will be given to growers or producers of healthy, culturally relevant foods that  fit USDA K-12 meal pattern requirements and for prepared items such as condiments, sauces, soups, stews, breads, and entrees.
    • Fall/Winter deadline: November 30th.
• Small, Minority and Women Owned Business Account COVID-19 RELIEF Program: To support Maryland’s small businesses facing continued financial impacts from COVID-19, the state established the Minority and Women-Owned Business Account COVID-19 RELIEF Program with $10 million in state Relief Act funding.