Giving Together (GT), a Bethesda-based “giving circle” of female donors, announced Tuesday that three nonprofits addressing food, nutrition, and hunger relief received grants from the organization, according to a statement from the organization.
Nourish Now, a Rockville food recovery and redistribution nonprofit, received a $25,000 grant as well as two anonymous donations from GT donors, bringing the total award to $30,000, the statement read. These funds will allow the nonprofit to expand the number of families served monthly from 500 to 700 and to improve the effectiveness of Nourish Now’s family food security program.
Food for Others, a Fairfax, Virginia, food bank/food pantry, received $25,000 to enhance the scope and nutritional value of a program that provides low-income elementary school students in 29 Fairfax County schools with a grocery bag of food to take home over the weekend, the statement said.
An $8,000 grant was presented to Crossroads Community Food Network, a nonprofit in Takoma Park, to buy equipment for its new community kitchen, the statement said. The kitchen, the first of its kind in the local area, will be used by low-income women seeking to build successful food businesses.
The awards represent the culmination of GT’s six-month selection process, which narrows the field of applicants to four finalists. A recent vote of GT’s membership selected the awardees, according to the statement.
Since its founding in 2009, GT has awarded nearly $300,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations helping low-income women and children in the greater Washington, D.C., area. Grants have focused on workforce development, housing and homelessness, education, legal services, and other areas, the statement said. The 2016 grants cycle is the first time GT sought applications for proposals addressing hunger.
GT’s 2017 grant cycle will begin in April, with a formal request for applications.