And the winner of the Grow Fund Grant is........
What is the Grow Fund Anyway?
As part of The Food Co-op’s cooperative spirit, it is our mission to support our community in a variety of ways. One way is our commitment to sharing our prosperity to increase the positive impact we have on our community. In 2018, we decided to leverage the funds generated by our Cooperative Community Fund to grow our local food system and its impact. The Cooperative Community Fund is an endowment fund established by a group of cooperatives to support other cooperatives and to enable community giving. The Fund lends the pooled money to cooperatives. Each year, the interest generated by an individual co-op’s fund—we call ours the GROW Fund—can be donated to nonprofits and cooperatives in their community as cash grants
How Does it work?
Each year on August 1st, we will announce the new cycle, giving nonprofits and cooperatives four weeks to complete a simple grant application to be submitted by August 31st. In mid-September, we will convene a team of five, comprised of the following:
A co-op staff person who is also a local cultivator
A co-op board member who is also on the C3 (Cooperative Connections Committee) committee
The general manager
The marketing manager
A member at large - EMAIL Marketing@FoodCoop.Coop if you are interested in sitting on this panel.
The team will meet to review the applications and make a decision based upon criteria (to be developed in the first year). Decisions will be made by a 4/5 vote of the team and announced in October.
2019 Winner!
We’re in our second year of offering this grant and the decision just gets harder and harder! This year we are granting $1070 and had ten applicants, three more than last year. Every applicant had amazing projects they are working on but the committee settled on projects they felt would help drive resiliency in our community and would continue to have a lasting impact for years to come.
This year we decided to grant the funds to the FOOD BANK FARM AND GARDENS for two upcoming projects they are working on. When asked how they would use the funds, this is what they said……
Katelyn and Sam on their Food Bank Garden on Finnriver Cidery’s acreage.
Finn Project:
We started the Food Bank Garden at Finnriver this past year when we generously received a “seed money” grant from the Jefferson County Food Bank Association. We volunteered our time, and after working four long rows in the back acreage of Finnriver Cidery’s orchard we donated about 2,700lbs of fresh, Certified Organic produce to the Tri Area Food Bank. Because of the Food Co-op’s Grow Fund we can continue the project through the 2020 growing season. These funds will go toward seasonal start up costs such as seeds, row cover, soil amendments, irrigation infrastructure, and cover crops as well as to help offset the cost of the time and energy we devote to this project. We hope to implement more no-till practices this year which simultaneously keeps carbon in the ground, uses rainwater to its fullest potential, increases microbial soil activity and decreases erosion. Delivering our produce less than a mile down the road within 24 hours of patron pick-up means that it’s preventing vast food transportation miles, food waste, and is being enjoyed by members of our community within peak flavor and nutrition!
Port Hadlock Garden
Freeze Dryer Project:
Port Hadlock Garden
Food Bank Farm and Gardens plans to buy a freeze drying machine to preserve part of the nearly 20,000 pounds of fresh produce and fruit brought in to Jefferson County food banks each year from its gardens and gleaning efforts. Freeze drying preserves over 95% of the original nutrients in fresh produce, and allows food banks to offer high-quality food even in the winter months when fresh produce is less available. Since freeze dried food has a shelf life of 25 years and requires no refrigeration, it can also be an important part of community emergency food supplies. Each freeze dryer costs $5,000 and we are looking to purchase two. If you are interested in finding out more, or offering your support, please visit our website.
Having the support from such a reputable organization as the Food Coop now allows us to dive into seeking further funding opportunities in our community with confidence by asking for matches to grow our impact. We’re honored to have been chosen as Grow Fund recipients among many worthy causes and are excited about the season ahead.
