Grant Information: A food bank - which collects, warehouses and distributes food to a network of nonprofit feeding programs - is often a community’s leading and largest anti-hunger organization. MAZON is a major supporter of the nation’s food bank network, and provides these vital food distributors with general operating support and project funding. MAZON funds only those food banks whose member agencies pay shared-maintenance fees. The vast majority of our food bank grantees are affiliated with America’s Second Harvest.
General range of Food Bank grants: $5,000-$20,000. Organizations wishing to apply for a grant to purchase food or capital equipment must receive permission from MAZON before submitting an application. Applications seeking more than $20,000 in this category are discouraged.
MAZON has always encouraged food banks to go beyond food distribution and involve themselves in the larger picture of anti-hunger work. Our philosophy, reflected in our guidelines and grantmaking, has been that food banks have an obligation to use their status and visibility to a) educate their supporters about the role and limits of charities in feeding hungry Americans; b) advocate for public policies beyond those that result in more donations of food to charity; and c) train and encourage their agencies to do the same.
Food banks that embrace this philosophy and play leading roles in their state’s direct service and anti-hunger advocacy efforts are MAZON’s funding priority.
As a result, all food bank applicants must demonstrate involvement in anti-hunger advocacy and public education. This includes demonstrating, through organizational mission statements and publications, commitment to addressing the broader causes of hunger as well as meaningful participation in local, state or national anti-hunger advocacy and education efforts. Funding Restrictions MAZON prefers that grants in this category not be used for the purchase of food. Food-purchasing grants are generally small and are restricted to food banks demonstrating that they serve a predominantly rural area. Capital equipment grants also are restricted to rural food banks.
Click here to learn more about the application process.
