The Montgomery County Office of Food Systems Resilience is allocating more than $3.5 million in grants to support 48 food assistance provider organizations, the office announced Wednesday.
The organizations collectively serve nearly 165,000 county residents each month, according to a county news release.
The funds are allocated through the county’s Fiscal Year 2025 Community Food Assistance Program, which was created as an “innovative, community-driven approach to address persistent food security challenges,” according to Wednesday’s release. Funds are granted to qualifying organizations that have provided regularly scheduled food distribution services on at least a monthly basis for a minimum of two years within the county.
“This program builds resilience in our community by both strengthening the stability of essential food assistance services for County residents in culturally inclusive, trusted spaces, while also investing in expanded local food production, economic opportunity and nutritious food access that will benefit all residents for decades to come,” Heather Bruskin, director of the Office of Food Systems Resilience, said in the release.
Funding priority was given to programs that operate via a “choice model,” the release said. The choice model, which allows recipients to choose food they’d like from a selection, has grown in popularity in the county this year.
Nourishing Bethesda celebrated the launch of its latest initiative, Choice Market, in September. The food bank operates as a miniature grocery store that focuses on allowing people in need to choose which foods they want rather than receiving groceries primarily through pre-sorted bags.
In August, the county government launched a program in partnership with Instacart called MC Groceries that will allow recipients of food vouchers to choose groceries online and have them delivered.
This summer, several food pantry leaders who spoke to MoCo360 expressed concerns that the need within the county is outpacing the financial support the organizations are receiving. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the county saw about a 50% increase in food insecurity in its population, and that need has not dissipated, according to Bruskin. That increase was coupled by an estimated 50% increase in the number of organizations that were providing food assistance in the county.
During this year’s negotiations over the proposed fiscal year 2025 county operating budget, the County Council cut County Executive Marc Elrich’s (D) proposed $7 million in spending for the Office of Food Systems Resilience to $3.5 million. The office distributes funding and serves as a liaison between government and community food systems partners such as nonprofits, farmers and businesses, according to county officials.
Though the office—created in 2023 to address food insecurity gaps following the COVID-19 pandemic—had a $1.1 million budget in fiscal 2024, Elrich had based his fiscal 2025 proposal on the anticipated need for more funding for local organizations addressing food insecurity, according to Bruskin.
In October 2022, the county council approved an additional $8.1 million for the county’s Food Staples Program, which provides food to individuals and families in need, to prevent it from running out of money, and added $6.4 million for initiatives to alleviate food insecurity in the fiscal year 2024 budget. These funding initiatives were not renewed for fiscal 2025, which began July 1.
