The city of Pittsburgh has allocated $3 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to a Food Justice Fund. After years of work and advocacy by the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council, Just Harvest and other community organizations – this is an incredible win for a more equitable and just food system.
Just Harvest got the chance to speak with Gabbi McMorland, the City of Pittsburgh’s Food Justice Fund Coordinator, on this exciting news and to learn more about the program. According to McMorland, “The purpose of the Food Justice Fund (FJF) is to increase public investment in a just, equitable, and sustainable food system that supports our neighborhoods, local economy, and the environment.”
The funds will be distributed through two unique programs. The first tier is $1.5 million dollars of the Food Justice Fund, which will be distributed through a grassroots grants program for 501©3 non-profits or applicants represented by a fiscal sponsor with budgets under $500,000. The Pittsburgh City Council approved New Sun Rising’s contract, allowing them to be the third-party administrator for these grants – which will range from $2K to $75K. Applications will open later this fall, and McMorland states, “We’re working on creating a simple, straightforward application process.”
The second tier allocates $1.1 million dollars for large-scale investments in Pittsburgh’s food system. These funds will be distributed by the city to for-profit and nonprofit organizations to carry out projects with transformational impacts to local food systems and food security (McMorland). The deadline for proposals is September 13th. Click here to read the city’s request for proposals, submit questions through the city’s online procurement portal, and register for the city’s virtual information session on August 23rd.
How does the passage of the Food Justice Fund fit into the history of Pittsburgh’s food system?
McMorland: “The food system has always been a landscape of both stark disparities and visionary justice work around access to food and also equitable participation in the food system itself. I love that this program came out of a broad community vision from a lot of people deeply rooted in food justice work.
The FJF represents a significant increase in the city’s investment in our food system. The City of Pittsburgh has previously supported local food systems work through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for some organizations addressing food security and also through programs like City Farms or the four farmers markets operated by Citiparks.
The FJF has also convened a committee of city residents with strong community connections and diverse food systems expertise to serve as a grant application review committee for the grassroots grants program. Personally, I’m really excited to see this powerful commitment from our city government to community-led decision making, and I’m seeing a trend towards participatory grantmaking nationwide among philanthropic foundations and government agencies. City staff will first review all grassroots grant applications for compliance with the eligibility requirements of these federal ARPA funds, then the FJF Governance Committee of community members will select projects to recommend for funding after final approval by City Council.”
Does the department have plans to secure additional funding?
McMorland: “I know we’ll see some really great outcomes from this multimillion-dollar investment but, yes, there will certainly be a need for future funding of food justice work from all levels of government and as a specific focus of philanthropy. Even though we’re a couple years out from empty grocery store shelves and emergency food distributions during quarantine, food insecurity is actually still rising. The pandemic highlighted the frailty of a system that concentrates food production and distribution among a few megacorporations, and the precarious daily vulnerability of so many of us in a highly inequitable society.
So, like many cities and counties around the country, I hope our region’s institutions continue to find ways to support our neighbors’ urgent needs today and transformation towards a just, equitable, and climate-resilient food system.”
With a due date of September 13th for Tier 2 of the grant, do you have any comment on the importance of beginning the proposal process as soon as possible – and the depth of this process?
McMorland: “Organizations interested in submitting proposals for the large-scale investments in Pittsburgh’s food system should visit the city’s online procurement portal ASAP and I encourage everyone to review the various proposal requirements early in developing your proposal. The city has a very structured and standardized procurement process that organizations must follow. I especially encourage people to submit questions about proposal requirements or ARPA’s eligible expenses early. I don’t want a really high quality project to miss out on this opportunity by waiting to find out the necessary requirements.”
What are the next steps of the tier 1 distribution of this fund?
McMorland: “People interested in applying for FJF Grassroots Grants of up to $75K should sign up now for email alerts at bit.ly/PGHFJF. Stay tuned for announcements about eligibility guidelines for how funds can be used, criteria for evaluating applications, and dates for opening applications. We’re excited to work with New Sun Rising on the administration of this grants program, and will share more information about that partnership after finalizing a contract and a plan.”
What are the biggest barriers you see to the proposal process? What might prevent people or organizations from submitting proposals?
McMorland: “I think that both government and philanthropic funders are increasingly recognizing the barriers to organizations applying for funding. Many small organizations do very impactful work with strong community connections, but don’t have the additional capacity for complex application processes or extensive data collection about impact. At the city, one of our top priorities is supporting applicants and lowering barriers for low-capacity grassroots groups, but we’re also working within the constraints of the federal ARPA funding. It’s less open-ended than what might be possible for a private foundation working with unrestricted funds from their endowment or high-wealth donors. I sincerely welcome questions from anyone considering applying for the grassroots grants program, please contact me sooner than later. You might have questions we haven’t thought of yet and asking questions about what kind of activities are eligible for funding will only make your application stronger. Please don’t feel like you have to have everything figured out before contacting us, we’re here to help.”
Organizations applying for large-scale investment funds should register for a SAM number ASAP at www.sam.gov. This is a free registration and necessary to finalize contracts for federally funded projects with the city. For more information on procurement and contracting, prospective vendors should visit https://pittsburghpa.gov/beacon/resources.html
Want to learn more? McMorland states, “Anyone interested in the program is welcome to contact me at [email protected] with questions. Find more info about the Food Justice Fund (FJF) at bit.ly/PGHFJF. I encourage everyone to go to bit.ly/PGHFJF and sign up for email alerts about upcoming deadlines and announcements as program details are finalized.”
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