Grant App. Now Open For Local Food Groups Targets Food Insecurity

Boston, MA — Groups in the Massachusetts local food system can now apply for a $36 million grant program announced by Gov. Charlie Baker last month. Qualified groups include those in processing, distribution, community organizations, school meal programming, and community gardens.

The grant program is part of a larger $56 million plan to address food insecurity in Massachusetts, which is allocating $3 million to food banks, $12 million to family food boxes, and $5 million to businesses that produce local produce for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Children, and Infants. The program was suggested by a food insecurity task force formed by Baker earlier in April.

“Like in so many other areas, this public health emergency has heightened concerns and the needs of our vulnerable families and communities,” Baker said at a news conference Thursday. “We recognize that this crisis has made things difficult for families that were food insecure, and it’s obviously increased the need in many communities across Massachusetts.”

Baker commended food banks for their innovation in figuring out how to get food to families who needed it, even with the complications of COVID-19. Instead of families being able to go to food banks and pick up what they need, food bank workers had to package groceries and bring them to families’ homes.

Massachusetts is now the second highest state in the nation for increased food insecurity for children, said Greater Boston Food Bank President Catherine D’Amato.

“Ensuring that families have the food that they need on the table will always be one of the crucial priorities that we continue to work with our colleagues on as we recover and seek to move forward in the weeks and months ahead,” Baker said.

A program to provide municipalities with funds to fix sidewalks, curbs, parking lots, and streets also opened Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Karyn Politio announced at the food conference.

The $5 million initiative, titled Shared Streets and Spaces Emergency Grant Program, will provide grants as small as $5,000 and as large as $300,000 to help towns and cities fix areas in main centers that could be an issue for public health or commerce.

The grant comes as restaurants and businesses have begun to reopen as part of phase two, which started on Monday. Baker said that COVID-19 numbers in the state continue to decline. On Wednesday, 10,000 people were tested, with 267 coming back positive. Currently there is a 4.2 percent average test rate, and 1,386 people are hospitalized for COVID-19, a drop of over 60 percent since the middle of April.