San Diego Foundation Grants Over $2.5M To Dozens Of Local Food Nonprofits

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego Foundation Thursday announced more than $2.5 million in grants to bolster new community-led food programs as San Diegans unpredictable federal benefit funding to CalFresh and other programs.

According to the foundation, the grants come out of the San Diego Unity Fund, created this year in response to federal funding reductions in food, housing and health care programs as a rapid-response fund for nonprofits.

Since its creation, Unity Fund has made grants to dozens of nonprofits and raised $32.3 million, including $12 million from the San Diego County Partnership to Protect San Diegans and $20 million from San Diego Foundation.

"Unity Fund grants support community organizations that know and are trusted by their neighbors and are already rethinking what food security looks like to keep San Diegans nourished with dignity," said Mark Stuart, president and CEO of San Diego Foundation. "Thanks to the generosity of donors across San Diego, we are moving quickly to fuel that innovation and deploy funding where it's needed most."

The $2,575,838 in grants from the Unity Fund will support a variety of approaches to food security, including:

-- Mama's Kitchen, $325,000 to expand medically tailored meal delivery for people with serious illnesses;

-- Neighborhood House Association, $250,000 to provide ready-to-eat weekend meals for families with children in Head Start programs;

-- Project New Village, $250,000 to operate "farmers markets on wheels" to bring fairly priced, locally grown produce into neighborhoods with limited access to fresh food;

-- Food Shed Cooperative, $250,000 to connect people with diet-related health conditions to nutritious food; and

-- UC San Diego Center for Community Health, $250,000) to expand Más Fresco! Plus, a program that delivers local produce to hungry families.

"This transformational rapid-response grant from the Unity Fund comes at a critical time for our clients and the community as a whole. As nonprofit organizations like Mama's Kitchen have faced funding cuts, and policy changes are impeding community members' access to nutrition and healthcare, we are seeing the perfect storm of increased demand," said Eva Matthews, CEO of Mama's Kitchen. "Now more than ever, our community is relying on nonprofits to fill gaps in even the most basic needs."

Other organizations being supported by the grants include Chicano Federation, Sherman Heights Community Center, Fallbrook Senior Citizens Service Club, Thrive Lemon Grove, Bayside Community Center, Bithiah's Family Services, Coastal Roots Farm, Partnerships for a Better San Diego, Chaldean Community Council, Boys & Girls Clubs, Fallbrook Food Pantry, Slavic Refugee and Immigrant Services, North County LGBTQ Resource Center and the Karen Organization of San Diego and cover a variety of initiatives, including neighborhood meal programs, food transportation and baby formula, diapers and other essentials for children in foster care.

"For Head Start families, food insecurity doesn't take a break on weekends. This critical Unity Fund grant will ensure that children in our programs have nutritious meals when they're away from our centers, supporting their health and development every day of the week," said Rudolph A. Johnson, president and CEO of the Neighborhood House Association. "At NHA, we believe in a continuum of care that wraps around families at every stage, and this grant strengthens our ability to serve the whole child and the whole family by providing nutritious meal kits they can prepare over the weekend."

More information about San Diego Unity Fund can be found at SDFoundation.org/Unity, with 100% of donations going to local nonprofits, San Diego Foundation said in a statement.

— City News Service