Nearly two dozen nonprofits and businesses receive grants from the Delaware Grocery Initiative.
Also known as First State Food System Grants, the program gives financial support to entities at every stage of the food chain, from production to distribution. The program is designed to address food deserts, as well as places that are in risk of becoming food deserts.
“In short, a food desert is a location where the members of that community do not have access to food, particularly healthy, nutritious, wholesome foods," says Nikko Brady, Governor Matt Meyer’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Climate, Food Systems, and Planning.
Making sure communities have access to healthy and available food can create good outcomes across a spectrum of needs like education, housing, and healthcare, Brady says.
“Being able to stabilize one of them helps individuals to stabilize the others, and being able to have a sense that your next meal will be there and that it will be nourishing helps you to then pause there and focus on other things.”
The 22 recipients come from around the First State, and received awards ranging from $5,000 to $12.500. Brady says many of this year’s grants focused on food storage and transportation.
“They know that adding a refrigerator, adding a freezer, allows them to increase their stock and serve more customers.”
Grant recipients have until the end of the year to finish their projects.
The grant recipients include:
- DE Nature Society
- Expanded Branches Comm. Development Corp.
- Farmacy Market
- FLOW Inc
- Forever Freeze Co.
- G’s DElights LLC
- Heritage Urban Farms
- Hispanic American Assoc. of DE Inc.
- Jefferson Street Center
- Lutheran Community Services, Inc
- Milford Advocacy for the Homeless
- Native Roots Farm Foundation
- One Purpose Food Pantry Corp.
- Route 9 Community Development Corp.
- Sussex County Kitchen Incubator,
- The HOPP
- The Ministry of Caring Inc.
- The Wooly Bully Inc.
- Unique Minds Changing Lives Inc.
- West End Neighborhood House
- Woodenhawk Farms, Inc.
- YWCA Delaware Inc.
