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2024 Nourish and Flourish Grants

The Nourish and Flourish Grant program is a competitive grant process that awards funds to agencies partnered with Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine to improve their programming, empowering them to better support food-insecure neighbors with greater dignity, agency, and effectiveness.

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Key Information about the Grants

One of the Food Bank’s Strategic Priorities is to ensure the experience of accessing food is positive and affirming for people at risk of and experiencing food insecurity while also promoting personal agency and community belonging. The Food Bank will be funding programs aimed at welcoming all neighbors while providing agency and dignity.

We know people experience food insecurity in every community, just as we know some communities are impacted more than others. This year, a heightened focus will be on marginalized communities. Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Two-spirit and other identities not explicitly listed (LGBTQ2S+), and rural and remote communities all experience food insecurity as much as 2.5 times the rate of other communities.

When completing the grant application, we encourage you to showcase how your program plans to use funds that will align with these principles. Highlight how your program includes the voices of these communities in decision-making. Share how outreach targets, attracts, and will retain these communities and their members.
We are eager to hear how grant funds can further your effort, learn how you are reaching and including neighbors within BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and Rural communities, or fund an idea you’ve had for quite some time!

We will accept grant applications until 4:30 pm on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.

If you have questions about the Nourish and Flourish Grant Program, please contact your Community Resource Representative or Program Coordinator.

We thank you for your time and interest in submitting a grant application!

Who can apply?

All partners in good standing are welcome to apply. To be considered in good standing, the agency account file must have current documentation, completed mandatory surveys, updated food safety training, and no open invoices beyond 90 days past due.

If your program is a food pantry, meal site, or shelter who received funding in the 2023 grant cycle a Grant Narrative (https://www.gsfb.org/2023-capacity-building-grant-narrative-survey/) is required and is due by Tuesday, September 24th, 2024. Completion of this narrative is also a requirement to be considered for the 2024 Nourish and Flourish Grant opportunity.

Please note that for future grant rounds beginning in 2025, to be considered in good standing, your agency must have submitted all retail receipts for each retail store pickup location by the end of every month in which the product was picked up throughout the year (if applicable).

If you have questions about the 2024 Nourish and Flourish Grant program, please contact your Community Resource Representative or Program Coordinator at Good Shepherd Food Bank.

How can funds be used?

Nourish and Flourish Grants can be used for, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Detailed, targeted strategies that incorporate the voices of BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and rural and remote community members to better reach, welcome, and nourish more neighbors.
  • Identifying and removing physical and other barriers to accessing charitable food for individuals experiencing food insecurity.
  • Creating or enhancing programs that improve the dignity of experience for people accessing charitable food.
  • Collaboration with partners in the charitable food network to explore the feasibility of providing additional ‘wraparound’ services.
  • Addressing equity issues to ensure that the charitable food network is welcoming, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of all people.

Pro Tip: If your Nourish and Flourish grant Application includes budget items with recurring expenses (such as staffing or a vehicle), be sure to share how you plan to sustain the efforts once funding from this grant is fully expended.

Nourish and Flourish Grant Reviewing

A grant review committee will use the 2024 Nourish and Flourish Grant Application Scoring Rubric (https://gsfb.canto.com/b/OVDO9) to score applications.

Every grant application is reviewed by a diverse committee, with each member bringing their perspective and expertise. The committee comprises Community Resource and Community Initiative Representatives, Community Partnerships Leadership, Supply Chain Leadership, members of the Network Advisory Council (who are also members of the network), Food Bank Board Members, Government partners, and other participants as needed.

Funding Expectations

If awarded a Nourish and Flourish Grant, partner agencies must adhere to the following:

2024 Nourish and Flourish Grant Application

Primary Contact Name(Required)
ALIGNMENT (x45) Please provide an explanation of your initiative or project. How does this project support BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and/or rural and remote community members? Immigrants, refugees, communities of color, indigenous communities, LGBTQ2S+, and rural and remote communities all experience food insecurity as much as 2.5 times the rate of other communities. Will the proposed project increase food access for these communities? Examples include: –Expanding outreach to marginalized communities within our service area to ensure everyone knows we are a safe space and resource where all are welcome. –Creating a marketing plan to reach members of these communities to inform neighbors we offer culturally relevant foods and have no tolerance for hostility. –Training staff and volunteers in Compassionate Customer Care. –Increasing BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ participation over the next year by XX%. –Launching a home delivery program for rural neighbors. –Starting a mobile pantry or satellite distribution to reach neighbors in remote or congregate spaces. NOTE: If your project includes components that will require on-going investment beyond this Nourish and Flourish Grant (such as staffing or a vehicle), please tell us about your long-term sustainability plan once these grant funds have been expended.
Example: $1,000 for a produce display refrigerator, $300 for metal shelving, $200 for two used rolling carts, Total: $1,500
IMPACT ON OPERATIONAL CAPACITY (x30) Please provide a brief explanation of why your agency is applying for this Nourish and Flourish Grant. How/why did you choose this initiative or project? How will receiving the grant funds increase your organization’s capacity to serve neighbors with greater dignity, agency, and effectiveness? Example: “Our program is requesting grant funds to purchase equipment for the implementation of a grocery-style shopping model distribution. Our goal is to increase neighbor satisfaction with the food they receive and their overall experience at the food pantry. Additionally, we will be adding an evening distribution one day a week to support families unable to attend daytime distributions and increase educational opportunities for volunteers to help support more meaningful interactions with neighbors.”
Example: “Our program will measure success through neighbor surveys. We will survey neighbors before and after the implementation of the grocery-style shopping model with questions specific to neighbor satisfaction around product selection, access to the pantry, and overall experience. Success will also be measured by the growth in produce distributed to families after increasing our refrigerated products on display and opening an additional evening each week.”
COMMUNITY NEED and VOICE (x20): Please list the top five towns your program serves with corresponding percentages of neighbors attending from each town. Example: “Portland (80%), South Portland (5%), Scarborough (5%), Westbrook (5%), and Falmouth (5%)”
Example: “We seek anonymous feedback from neighbors at each visit via a survey that people can drop in a suggestion box. We ask about program access, product selection, and satisfaction, as well as overall experience. We also host focus groups two times a year to hear from those using our pantry. Through these methods of data collection, we identified the need for evening hours and the desire for more self-selection.”
COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION COLLABORATIONS (X20): Please tell us about ways your program currently partners with other organizations or groups in your community to better understand and meet the needs of neighbors or increase impact on community food security, especially those most significantly impacted (BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+ and Rural/Remote). Are there any opportunities for new or expanded partnerships or collaborations related specifically to the grant funds requested for this proposal? Example: “Our program partners with local community action programs and businesses to build community awareness and maximize fundraising opportunities. We also work closely with other local food pantries and meal sites to coordinate distribution days and times for increased food access in the community. Our new evening hours are complimentary to the existing food access in our community. Once we have completed the implementation of the shopping model distribution, we plan to host an open house for neighbors, local organizations, businesses, and town officials to learn more about our program and see the changes we have made.”
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