WSDA Rolls Out New Grant Program To Help Food Assistance Organizations

The Washington state Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the Flexible Funding grants, a new grant program intended to help those trying to address hunger in their local community.

The WSDA’s Hector Castro says the grants are eligible to projects in three categories:

• Those making food distribution more efficient
• Those targeting community needs
• Pilot projects, innovations and food system improvements

“One of the things that is key to this is again, we contract with a lot of organizations for food assistance efforts in their communities.  But, for these grants you don’t need to be one of our current contracted food operations.  This is open to any agency providing food assistance to their communities.”

WSDA has an existing food assistance program and work with a number of organizations statewide to help those in need. But during the pandemic several new organizations, such as Youth Groups and church organizations stepped up to help neighbors in need.

“This grant program is meant to help both those organizations that have already been providing food assistance and some of these newer, Ad-hoc, community groups that began providing that assistance as well during the pandemic.”

Grant awards will range from below $5,000 to over $50,000. Visit the WSDA's Website to learn more about the Flexible Funding grants program.

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