- Credibility:
ENGLEWOOD — It’s not too late to submit an application to get a portion of $40,000 in grant funding meant to create healthy food options in Englewood.
It’s part of the annual Fresh, Healthy Food Access Grant Opportunity presented by Whole Foods’ non-profit arm Whole Cities Foundation.
Whole Cities Foundation is working in tandem with the Resident Association of Greater Englewood (RAGE) to find the best applicants for the community-centered projects. The partnership between RAGE and Whole Cities Foundation began before the opening of Englewood Whole Foods.
Grant submissions, available here, are due by 11:59pm Wednesday.
The application opened May 15. Two information sessions for the grant were held on May 31. Eligible applicants must be registered nonprofit and have demonstrated an interest in increasing access to fresh, healthy food options in Englewood. Grants are issued in amounts ranging from $2,000-$8,000.
RAGE president Aysha Butler said the organization created a task force to evaluate submissions. Those deemed eligible advanced to an in-person and online community voting round. The task force consists of RAGE of members with backgrounds in grant writing, nonprofits and related fields.
“Usually when a foundation will have a grant process it’s usually some board Downtown or someone who does not really know the community and doesn’t really have the pulse on the community. So this opportunity really gives folks who know the community an opportunity to learn about these other groups who are doing this work and uplift those groups who doing these great projects through this process,” she said.
The community voting period will start Aug. 6 and conclude Aug. 26.
Grant recipients in 2017 included Imagine Englewood If, Growing Power, I Grow Chicago, Southwest Federation Block Clubs Bucket Gardening, and Zanjabil Gardens Community Garden.
Butler said a byproduct of the community voting process is the community organizations have networked with each to discuss ideas for how best they could move forward.
