Recipients of the $436,000 in grants include farmers, consumer packaged goods, soup kitchens and food banks, brick-and-mortar food service and retail concepts, and more.
When the team behind the Serving Our Communities foundation met to winnow down the list of prospective winners for its inaugural Food City initiative grants competition, they were impressed by the founders and community activists who had entered. They were inspired by the innovative ideas each had brought to the table and filled with hope at the creative solutions for how to create an inclusive and equitable food ecosystem in St. Louis.
There was one major problem, though: They could not, in good conscience, select just a handful of winners.
“We were all just looking at each other—even during their pitches—saying that we were going to give them money no matter what,” recalls chief operations officer Darren Jackson. “It was impossible to choose, because the reality is that each of these entrepreneurs has a social good– and community-focused mission, alongside their really good food. It’s really hard to say no to somebody who is feeding their neighbors. And how do you say no to toasted ravioli? We couldn’t pick, so we ended up giving money to everyone.”
The Grant Recipients
Food City tripled its initial commitment by awarding a total of $436,000 in grants, ranging from $1,000 microgrants to major grants of $75,000 (plus $25,000 in-kind support).
Major Grants: The Serving Our Communities Foundation is awarding a total of $350,000 to these emerging leaders, which “demonstrate extraordinary potential for scalability and community impact”:
- Community Builder: George Washington Carver Farms by Ujima – $150,000
- Growth: Pop Pop Hurray, Tony Davis – $75,000 + $25,000 In-Kind Production Support
- Innovation: Propel Kitchens, Kisha Lee – $50,000
- Promise: Show Me The World Project, Sylvestor Chisom & Samantha Lurie – $50,000
- Food Equity: New Roots Urban Farm, Mina Aria – $20,000
- Climate & Sustainability: Known & Grown STL, Rae Miller – $5,000
Read the full article on the St. Louis Magazine website here.