Montgomery County’s Office of Food Systems Resilience has launched a strategy aimed at expanding and improving food recovery efforts in partnership with community organizations to increase the supply for those in need, according to a Monday press release.
The three-part strategy was developed after county officials spoke with local food bank leaders about what the county could be doing to more effectively help these community partners recover food from restaurants and grocery stores. Food recovery, according to the press release, is defined as the procurement of safe-to-eat food from restaurants, grocery stores and other food providers that is no longer able to be sold for a variety of reasons. The recovered items are then distributed to food banks.
Community partners told county officials that attempts to expand food recovery efforts were hampered by transportation and cold storage issues and the need for better coordination of donations and distribution, according to the press release. Due to these needs, the Office of Food Systems Resilience will be directing funding to improve infrastructure, support collaboration and help cover food recovery operational costs for community partners.
“During a time when financial stressors are more drastically impacting our community, we need to stretch every local dollar further,” Heather Bruskin, director of the Office of Food Systems Resilience, said in the release. “This approach is a double win, having significant climate benefits while also strategically sourcing more food to feed our community.”
The strategy includes three grant programs.
To help food recovery organizations meet shared infrastructure needs related to transportation, cold storage and food waste recycling, the Office of Food Systems Resilience is launching the Food Recovery Network Infrastructure Grant Program for fiscal year 2025, which ends June 30. Applications are open now and close May 30.
Eligible projects include those for shared-use cold storage, onsite composting systems for inedible organics and refrigerated vehicles for transporting recovered food. A total of $300,000 is available for this program.
Then later this summer, the office will launch Food Recovery Network Coordination grants for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. Eligible applicants must be nonprofit organizations experienced in coordinating community partners and not directly involved in food recovery.
In the fall, the office will launch the third prong of the strategy, the Community Food Assistance Grant Program, to help community partners access more operational funding. Applicants can choose to join the county’s brand-new Food Recovery Network which is being launched as part of the initiative to promote collaboration, reduce competition for donors and support data sharing among organizations or request funding to cover operational costs such as staffing and transportation.
“This added flexibility is designed to expand food-sourcing options and encourage more cost-effective strategies to address rising food insecurity,” the release said.
According to the news release, the food assistance provider network is regularly serving more than 106,000 residents collectively each month, and it is estimated that food insecurity affects 35% of county residents.
“Our hope is that the spirit of collective impact that built [the county’s food recovery programs] will be carried into the next phase of the County’s food rescue efforts,” said Jenna Umbriac, director of programs for Manna Food Center, a food bank based in Silver Spring and Gaithersburg. Manna serves more than 60,000 clients per year, according to its annual report.
Food insecurity rates in the county have skyrocketed over the past five years. 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 county officials. That increase was coupled by an estimated 50% increase in the number of organizations that were providing food assistance in the county. In July 2024, several food pantry leaders who spoke to Bethesda Today expressed concerns that the need within the county is outpacing the financial support the organizations are receiving.
Local food banks have expressed concerns about how changes at the federal level could impact their funding. In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut more than $1 billion in food aid funding that would have been distributed to organizations and nonprofits.
Last week, the County Council took a straw vote to pass the $7.6 billion county operating budget for fiscal year 2026. The council will take a binding vote on the budget Thursday. As part of the budget, the council allocated $14 million for the Office of Food Systems Resilience, which is consistent with its funding in the current fiscal year.
