Food Access Emergency Grants

The Food Access Emergency Grants are essential for nonprofit organizations in the Mahoning Valley facing urgent funding needs due to the federal government shutdown. These grants aim to bridge gaps in food access by supporting existing programs and collaborations. Priority is given to established organizations with a prior relationship with the Community Foundation. The program addresses unforeseen events and challenges resulting from federal funding changes, ensuring that critical services remain available to vulnerable communities.

Note: Emergency grants are always available.
The ongoing shutdown of the federal government has resulted in significant disruptions to critical services and programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports thousands of households throughout the Mahoning Valley. These disruptions have resulted in increased demand on local resources to fill in the gaps to ensure residents in the Mahoning Valley are able to meet their basic health and safety needs.
The Community Foundation’s limited emergency funding resources are focused on coordinated efforts that can quickly expand existing food access across the region — such as scaling up established programs or collaborations that reach multiple communities. Priority will be given to organizations with an existing relationship with the Community Foundation, either as a grantee or a community partner.
Loss of Federal Funding
CFMV offers emergency grant opportunities for eligible nonprofit organizations facing urgent funding needs. This program addresses both unforeseen events that significantly interrupt essential services and (as of May 2025) challenges related to recent unprecedented changes in federal funding.

Eligibility

The Community Foundation will consider requests from individual food access efforts, including food pantries, if the following information can be provided: The food access effort (ex: food pantry, meal delivery, etc.) was operational before the request for emergency funding was made. The applicant can provide information regarding current resources available (ex: food in a pantry inventory, staff or volunteers available to expand the program, etc.) and how long these resources will last. The applicant can provide information about the impact the anticipated increase in services will have on their current level of service delivery and a general approach to responding to this increased demand on services. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, churches, government agencies, and organizations working with qualified fiscal sponsors Organizations must have been providing food access programs before the reduction of SNAP benefits.Funding needs must arise from unexpected circumstances, which can include cuts in federal funding.

Ineligibility

New efforts created in response to the loss of funding will not be considered for this particular emergency grant opportunityFunding that has been frozen or lost due to changes that occur through regular legislative budgeting processes will not be eligible for consideration for these emergency grants