April 25, 2002

On April 23rd USDA's Food and Nutrition Service announced a third round of competitive grants for groups to improve Food Stamp Program access. This round of grants emphasizes the use of new technology and partnerships. A total of $5 million will be awarded, with individual grants expected to range between $100,000 and $350,000. The deadline for applications is June 28th. With four out of ten low-income people eligible for food stamps not receiving them, anti-hunger groups and allies have identified food stamp outreach as a major priority.

The latest USDA grant pool comes on the heels of two rounds of access grants awarded in 2001: approximately $3.5 million distributed among 14 grantees testing innovative strategies for reaching low-income working families, immigrants and other vulnerable populations; and $2 million distributed among several states piloting methods for serving elderly persons. A number of states also invest their own funds to pull down dollar for dollar matching grants from the federal government to conduct outreach.

For more information go to:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/GRANTS/2002/research_grants.htm