Food Rescue Micro Grants
LOS ANGELES SANITATION AND ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY HEALTH COUNCILS, AND THE LOS ANGELES FOOD POLICY COUNCIL ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR THE FOOD RESCUE MICRO GRANTS. THE FULL RFP CAN BE FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE, AND ADDITIONAL DETAILS ARE BELOW.
The Food Rescue Grants is a two-part funding opportunity intended to address food insecurity and climate change by supporting food recovery and distribution systems within the City of Los Angeles.
The Food Rescue Micro Grants specifically aim to increase the capacity and help meet the infrastructural needs of Food Recovery Organizations (FROs) and other community based organizations (CBOs) working within the food recovery space. Awardees of the Food Rescue Micro Grants will be awarded up to $25,000 for material needs to increase their capacity to recover and distribute more food to communities in the City of Los Angeles.
The Food Rescue Micro Grants application period will be open Friday, February 24th, 2023 thru Friday, March 17th, 2023, 11:59 PM
Grants will be awarded with an emphasis on providing material needs in order to build capacity. Priority will be given to less resourced organizations and to organizations that work with communities that have been historically underfunded and resourced.
Awards will be up to $25,000.00, and funding must be allocated to activities or programs that increase the ability to recover surplus food or receive and distribute recovered food from other organizations.
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Allowable uses of funds includes, but is not limited to:
Equipment and materials (i.e. refrigeration, dollies, pallet jack, shelving, etc.)
Technology (technology tools, technological investments)
Trainings (pallet jack certification, SB 1383, etc.)
Indirect costs up to 10%
*Grant funding will not cover salaries or the purchasing of food.
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To be eligible for a grant under this Request For Proposals, organizations applying for the Food Rescue Micro Grants must meet the minimum mandatory requirements (MMR) to be considered eligible. The MMR are as follows:
Applicants must be a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code OR be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) OR partner with a 501(c)(3) as the lead applicant.
Organizations classified as private foundations under Section 509(a) are not eligible.
Government agencies are not eligible.
Organizations must be headquartered in the City of Los Angeles.
Organizations must be a food recovery agency (FRO) or a community based organization (CBO) working with recovered food within the City of Los Angeles (i.e. food distributions, pantries, community fridges, etc.).
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Friday, 24 February 2023: Micro Grant Request for Proposals Announced
Wednesday, 8 March 2023 at 3:00 PM: Food Rescue Micro Grant Informational Session #1
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 at 4:00 PM: Food Rescue Micro Grant Informational Session #2
Friday, 17 March 2023 by 11:59 PM : Micro Grant Proposals Due
Friday, 24 March 2023: Micro Grant Awardees Announced
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Applicant Workshops
Applicants are encouraged to participate in one of two informational sessions offered on:
Wednesday, 8 March 2023 at 3:00 PM
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 at 4:00 PM
Application Instructions:
The application can be found in the RFP available here.
Written applications may be submitted in either English or Spanish.
Word counts are listed for each question. Responses that exceed the word count limit will not be reviewed. Use the Word Count tool to check responses.
Maps, figures, and pictures may also be included as part of the responses. Note that explanations and captions for any visual aids will still count towards the Word Count.
Formatting such as bullet points (●, ○, ⮚), lettering (a, b, c), or underline may be used to organize responses. Avoid excessive formatting to ensure readability.
All application questions are required for consideration.
Application Submission
Submit applications and supporting documents to foodrescuegrants@goodfoodla.org.
The subject line should read: Micro Grant APPLICATION (either A or B) COMPLETED - APPLICANT ORGANIZATION NAME. All supporting documents should be submitted as attachments.
Once your application has been submitted you will receive a confirmation email.
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Q: What is “food rescue”?
A: We define food rescue or recovery as collecting edible food that would otherwise be sent to landfill.
Q: Does food received from a food bank qualify?
A: Activities and equipment that increase an organization’s ability to recover, receive, and/or distribute rescued food are eligible for funding through this process. Receiving food from a food bank qualifies, but the purchase of food, whether rescued food or not, is not eligible.
Q: What is the maximum amount of funds an organization can be awarded?
A: Organizations can be awarded up to $25,000.00.
Q: How soon after being awarded are organizations required to spend funds?
A: Funds must be spent during the grant period (May 2023 thru December 2023).
Q: Can we report program metrics by how many participants are served?
A: Organizations may report their impact using whatever metrics they are currently using to measure their success.
Q: Can funds be used towards delivery services like Doordash or Uber to help with recovery of food?
A: The purpose of the Food Rescue Micro Grants is for infrastructural improvements that build capacity to recover food directly or receive recovered food. Activities and equipment that increase an organization’s ability to recover, receive and/or distribute rescued food are eligible for funding through this process. Priority will be given to projects that are long-term infrastructural improvements.
Q: Can funds be used towards contractors that help manage food distributions?
A: Activities and equipment that increase an organization’s ability to recover, receive and/or distribute rescued food are eligible for funding through this process. Personnel costs are not eligible. Priority will be given to projects that are long-term infrastructural improvements.
Q: How will awardees be selected? Is there a preference for communities served by the organization applying?
A: In addition to geographic eligibility and completeness of application, awardees will be selected based on organizational need and program impacts.
Q: Can organizations apply for both the Food Rescue Micro Grants and the Food Rescue Macro Grants?
A: Yes.
Q: What is the process for competitive bids for purchases?
A: If selected as an award recipient, CHC and LAFPC will advise grantee on procurement thresholds for purchases, and documentation needed.
Q: Can organizations get advances for purchases we can't front? What is the process?
A: All micro-grant funding will be awarded in advance, with contractual obligations to submit expense reports and supporting documentation on a recurring basis.
