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Food Well Alliance is investing up to $250,000 through the Local Food Grant. Nonprofits, entrepreneurs and educators are invited to apply for up to $25,000 to implement one-year project that demonstrate why locally-grown food is the healthiest, most sustainable and equitable choice for improving our city.

Fresh, locally-grown vegetables, herbs, fruits, and eggs are extremely important to the health of our communities. But urban farms and gardens are more than just food production. Atlanta’s preserved growing spaces beautify neighborhoods, serve as safe places for seniors and children to socialize, and bring people together as stewards of our shared environment. Students learn about ecology and food systems at school gardens, while entrepreneurs earn income as they gain skills managing farmers markets and designing solutions to Atlanta’s food system challenges.

In 2018, Food Well Alliance will invest in leaders that are committed to transforming our city by putting local growers at the center of their work. Through the 2018 Local Food Grant, we seek to encourage the production and consumption of healthy local food across five counties including Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Gwinnett and Cobb by expanding food access solutions, scaling the infrastructure of urban farms and supporting more educational programming in school gardens.

Urban farmers and gardeners in Atlanta are paving the way for the resilient, vibrant, and collaborative city we all want to live in.Without strong, viable, productive urban farms and gardens in our bustling urban city, we lose touch with where our food comes from, leading us to make poor eating choices and separating us from our food system and from each other. Farms and gardens are essential to Atlanta’s resilience and when accessible to all communities, they can transform the ecological, economic, social and nutritional health of our neighborhoods.

If you believe that local food can transform our city, you are invited to apply for the 2018 Local Food Grant. Tell us how you are building relationships with your nearby farmer or garden, to educate, feed, and improve the health and economy of your community.

Impact Areas

Through our 2018 Local Food Grant, Food Well Alliance will invest up to $250,000 that address one of the two funding priorities below:

 

Economic Development

1. Increase productivity and viability of local farming enterprises

At the root of a resilient local food system are communities that are centered around productive and viable farms. Food Well Alliance will invest in local farming enterprises that seek to stimulate local economies, provide jobs and job training for local residents, and offer opportunities to earn income and reach low-access neighborhoods through community-supported agriculture, local restaurants and
farmers markets.

Health and Nutrition

2. Increase garden-based education and access to local food

Local farmers, garden-based educators and food-focused organizations have a unique opportunity to collaborate and meet the demand for healthy, nutritious foods in neighborhoods that most need it in Atlanta. Food Well Alliance seeks to fund organizations that make the connection between locally-grown food and healthy eating, by increasing garden-based education and local food consumption in communities and schools across Metro Atlanta.

Process

Guidelines

The Local Food Grant offers project support to nonprofit organizations, public institutions, and social enterprises that are working with their communities to strengthen the local food system in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.

Food Well Alliance will make one-year grants for up to $25,000 to those who propose a compelling and detailed project that successfully impacts one of our funding priorities. Only organizations with 501(c)3 status or a registered business in the state of Georgia are eligible to apply.

While our broad goal is to build a healthy, sustainable local food system in Metro Atlanta, Food Well Alliance focuses on community-based approaches that unite organizations working across the local food movement.

Applicants who demonstrate strong project management skills, incorporate best practices and thoughtful collaboration with place-based partners will be given priority.

We only will consider proposals from organizations that are using LOCAL food as a transformational tool to build healthier communities in Metro Atlanta.

Areas NOT Funded:

  • Projects outside Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties
  • Projects that do NOT incorporate food produced in and sourced from Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties
  • Research, litigation or legal expenses
  • Projects in which the primary activity is the production of a film, video, or publication (although these can be part of a project or program)
  • Projects in which the primary activity is a conference, workshop, or seminar
  • Partisan political activities
  • Religious organizations for general operating support, sanctuary construction/renovation or mission-focused work. However, we do consider requests from religious organizations with 501(c)3 status to provide project-specific programs related to local food or local farming, and are not limited to a specific religious affiliation

Click here to review our Frequently Asked Questions before submitting your application. Please also review our list of current grant recipients to learn more about the types of organizations Food Well Alliance supports.

Did you miss our informational webinar on August 16th? You can still access the full recording here: Informational Webinar.

The webinar offers helpful tips for completing the Local Food Grant application and also helps applicants think through how their current work around local food or future local food projects align with this funding opportunity.

Webinar attendees can also learn more about using the online grant system to complete and submit their application and hear about the Food Well Alliance funding priorities for this opportunity.

Applications are to be submitted through our on-line grant management system. To learn more about our online system, please click here for a tutorial.