Funding to Button Farm allowed for the purchase a Mantis Cultivator , lumber to frame out raised beds , and one of the farm ’ s new grubbing hoes wielded by Steve
Gillick , its Farm Manager .
onstrates the power of strategic partnerships to maximize impact across the community ,” explains Anna Hargrave , Executive Director for Montgomery County at the Greater Washington Community Foundation . “ We are so proud of how grants from our Food for Montgomery initiative are expanding this effort to help sustain our local farmers while also providing their fresh , nutritious food to ensure our neighbors won ’ t go to bed hungry . Ultimately , we know this effort will also help build a stronger food system for all of us .”
The Montgomery County Food Security Task Force allocated funding to support the purchase of roughly 60,000 pounds of produce during the first phase of the program , which ran from August through November 2020 , reaching at least 20,000 residents experiencing food insecurity . An additional contribution from the Food for Montgomery Fund allowed for the establishment of the Farm to Food Bank Capacity Building Grant program in September of 2020 . This grant program distributed more than $ 236,000 in funding to 22 Montgomery County-based food producing farms to support projects intended to build food production capacity and support the farms ’ ability to contribute greater amounts of produce to the Montgomery County Farm to Food Bank program in 2021 . Heather Bruskin , Executive Director of the Montgomery County Food Council , reflected on the impact of the funding : “ This innovative investment in our local farms is a critical step in building resilient and self-sufficient access to nutritious , sustainable , and culturally diverse food in our County in order to be better prepared for future crises .”
The 22 farms awarded funding through the program are :
Alden Farms , Amaranth Acres , Beauty Blooms , LLC ., Bella Vita Farm , Bethel World Outreach
Organic Farm , Butler ’ s Orchard , Button Farm , Cedar Ridge Community Church Farm , Chicken of the Woods Farm , Dodo Farm , Eat the Rainbow Farm , Lewis Orchards , Love and Grit , LLC ., Koiner Farm , One Acre Farm , Passion to Seed Gardening , Purple Mountain Organics , Red Wiggler Community Farm , Sandy Spring Gardens , Savage Acres Farm , Inc ., Tanglewood Farm , and The Farm at Our House .
A panel of 11 local food security and agriculture experts reviewed the applications to determine grant
The potato hilling and harvesting equipment will permit us to expand from 1 / 3 acre of potatoes to one acre of potatoes . Our yield of new potatoes should be over 10,000 pounds , and half of that we aim to deliver to Manna Food Center in June and July .
~ Tom Farquhar , owner Sandy Spring Gardens
awards . Grant applications were reviewed on criteria that included the long term viability of the project , the ability of the farm to increase the quantities of culturally appropriate food being provided to local food assistance organizations , and the promotion of sustainable farming practices . Amongst the 22 grant recipients , eight are Black , Indigenous , or People of Color ( BI- POC ) owned and / or operated .
Since receiving the grant funding , each of the farm partners have implemented unique projects , ranging from seedling purchases to expand their crop variety , to freezers to enhance cold storage
plenty I Summer growing 2021 7