The OFSR has designed robust data collection platforms that will measure the impact of these initiatives and inform future programming , to ensure that efforts are reaching children and households in underserved communities .
noz , and in partnership with the Montgomery County Food Council and Montgomery County Public Schools ( MCPS ). The Plan was developed with the input of over 1,000 community members , food system and healthcare partner organizations , and government leaders . It outlines 14 key strategies for addressing food insecurity amongst children and families in Montgomery County .
These fourteen strategies are distributed across three overarching categories : first , expanding existing initiatives through additional funding and staffing to allow an already-effective program to reach more residents , secondly , focusing on close collaboration with MCPS and early-childcare centers , to reach children and families through their existing relationships within their school or pre-K community , and lastly , adapting and implementing food security best practices and models from other jurisdictions to align with the demographics and needs of Montgomery County .
In December 2023 , the County Council , at the request of County Executive Elrich , unanimously approved $ 11.05M in funding as a supplement to the OFSR ’ s FY24 operating budget through Special Appropriation # 24-37 , to support the implementation of the Strategic Plan . The Special Appropriation funding has enabled the OFSR , in close partnership with DHHS , Capital Area Food Bank , Manna
Food Center , and more than two dozen additional community partners , to connect food resources with more children and families through a variety of mechanisms , centering resident perspectives , food sovereignty , and partnerships with our County ’ s food farmers in the process .
The Special Appropriation funding creatively addresses all three categories of approaches outlined in the Strategic Plan , by :
n Increasing the resources available to food assistance providers , through partnerships with the Capital Area Food Bank and Manna Food Center to bulk purchase larger quantities of shelf-stable and fresh produce items , which in turn makes a greater quantity of food resources available to residents accessing food assistance services ; n Establishing Food as Medicine and School-Based Food Assistance grant programs , connecting families to healthy , locally-produced foods through their healthcare providers , school-based health and wellness centers , and onsite at their child ’ s school ; n Encouraging expanded enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ( SNAP ) amongst eligible residents , by funding new positions in the DHHS Navigation Unit and creating a SNAP
Outreach Grant Program for organizations designated by the state to conduct SNAP application assistance ; n Creating a Retail Food Access Program , that will connect approximately 2,000 households that do not qualify for SNAP with a monthly grocery stipend that can be redeemed through the Instacart Fresh Funds program ; and n Providing critical resources to food recovery organizations as well as food producers that are engaged in food security partnerships , through establishing a Food System Infrastructure grant program that will fund cold storage equipment and related purchases to ensure safe food storage , as well as expanding the Resident and Community Gardening Grant Program to make food production and locally grown food more accessible to underserved communities .
Each of these programs align with the OFSR ’ s core values of initiatives that are equitable , systems-focused , innovative and data-driven . Funded partner organizations are required to collect mid-cycle and end-of-cycle metrics and report on project progress in alignment with established performance plans . The OFSR has designed robust data collection platforms that will measure the impact of these initiatives and inform
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