Albertsons Companies, along with Albertsons Companies Foundation, has officially revealed the recipients of this year’s Nourishing Neighbors Innovation Spark Grants. According to certain reports, the selected three innovative nonprofit organizations will receive a combined $9 million in multiyear grants to support new programs that, on their part, will create long-term solutions and help individuals and families achieve lasting food security. Talk about organizations that made the cut, we begin from Alpenglow Impact, a nonprofit organization working to improve well-being and build financial stability among people who need it the most. More on the same would reveal how the organization’s largest program, Gift Card Bank, assists people by turning donations into gift cards. Once converted, these gift cards are then distributed to neighbors in need. Conceived during the Covid 19 pandemic, the stated program has, thus far, aided the case of around 4 million people. Now, given the inflow from Nourishing Neighbors grant, Alpenglow Impact will look to launch a pilot program, a program which will basically assist low-income student mothers who hail from underserved communities. Furthermore, the initiative is expected to support this group’s journey right from community college to graduation, helping them accrue a significant amount of savings. Not just that, the whole program will also guide these mothers to develop a financial strategy for investing in their future, with the goal of breaking that ultimate cycle of hunger.
“Nourishing Neighbors has been instrumental in addressing the complexities of food insecurity, an issue that impacts over 18 million* American households, by helping ensure our neighbors in need have access to nutritious meals,” said Jennifer Saenz, EVP of Pharmacy and E-Commerce for Albertsons Cos. and Board Chair for Albertsons Companies Foundation. “Through the Nourishing Neighbors Innovation Spark Grants, we hope to enhance the work of innovative nonprofit organizations focused on building sustainable food security for individuals and families. This strategic support is designed to foster self-reliance and long-term stability in our communities.”
The next recipient in line is Hunger Free America, a nonprofit organization working on enacting the policies and programs needed to end domestic hunger, as well as ensuring that all Americans have sufficient access nutritious food. Already a long-time partner of the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the organization will now use the Nourishing Neighbors grant to facilitate a project which will help, at least, 200 individuals in Maryland and Illinois, who are unemployed, underemployed or, employed in low-wage jobs, scale up their long-term economic advancement. This it will do by increasing their work skills and wages. In essence, the whole program will bring forth 16-week apprenticeships with comprehensive support and guidance, doing so to prepare participants for roles in the social service sector. Beyond that, apprentices and Hunger Free America staff will work together to carry out outreach and enrollment activities for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women Infants and Children (WIC), and other resources. This it will do to empower thousands of families decrease their hunger and improve their nutritional security.
The third and final recipient of Nourishing Neighbors grant is North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), who already serves region with the nation’s fourth highest number of people facing food insecurity. NTFB will basically bank upon the new piece of cash support to enhance food bank’s initiatives, focusing on the development and maintenance of programs that extend past food distribution to create more connected, self-sufficient, and food-secure communities. It will also collaborate with a network of more than 500 partner agencies, including food pantries and other direct-food providers, all while leveraging an innovative data mapping system to strategically determine need and evaluate resources invested across a geographic area. Such an approach should tread a long distance in helping the organization provide financial support and skills training to empower partner agencies around specifically identified ZIP codes. Apart from that, NTFB will also aid the case of partner agency programming that addresses underlying barriers to food security, such as housing assistance, healthcare access, and workforce development.
