Washington Community Foundation announces $250,000 grant to Food Helpers
CENTERVILLE – Washington County Community Foundation will be providing Food Helpers, the umbrella organization of Greater Washington County Food Bank, with a $250,000 grant.
The matching grant, meaning Food Helpers will have to raise $250,000 in order to receive it, was announced during a ceremony Thursday at Food Helpers headquarters on Route 40 near Centerville. It will be disbursed in two $125,000 installments.
“It’s always been a goal of the Community Foundation to make grants to help unmet needs in the community,” said Betsie Trew, president and CEO of Washington County Community Foundation.
It was recently announced Food Helpers would be the umbrella organization of Greater Washington County Food Bank.
Trew said the foundation had been contemplating awarding a grant to Food Helpers for almost two years, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to put those plans on hold.
Of particular interest to the foundation is a Food Helpers’ community outreach program for residents in underserved or rural parts of Washington County. The program would help individuals and families whose income is just a little bit above the threshold for the county pantry system.
About 9,600 people in Washington County are classified as food-insecure, meaning they lack reliable access to food, according to Connie Burd, Food Helpers’ executive director. They are the people Food Helpers’ program is hoping to help.
The Washington County Community Foundation’s grant is coming from the foundation’s Community CARE Fund. To learn more about the Community Foundation, visit www.wccf.net.