COMMUNITY FOOD GRANTS
Funding for food pantries & food banks in Colorado

Community Food Grant applications are closed for the 2024-2025 cycle. Grants will reopen in late summer 2025, contingent upon state funding.

Earlier this year, the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee allocated $3 million in funding for food assistance over the next five years through House Bill 2024-1407, creating the Community Food Assistance Provider Grant Program. This means that the Food Pantry Assistance Grants and Food Bank Assistance Grants have been recombined, similiar to the structure prior to 2023. It’s now officially known as the Community Food Grants program.

The newly combined program supports all qualifying emergency food assistance providers with funding, specifically the procurement and distribution of healthy, culturally relevant foods in Colorado communities, while also championing local agriculture. The Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger administers the program, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Both food pantries and food banks are key partners in addressing hunger across Colorado. With these funds, food pantries can acquire and distribute food directly to individuals and families as aligned with community needs and priorities. Similarly, food banks can buy food in bulk and distribute the entirety of their grant purchases to the 1,200 food pantries in their agency networks.

The 2024 - 2025 funding cycle is only open to food pantries; the Blueprint has already awarded food banks with their portion of funding. Requests can range from $5,000 - $50,000, with a total of $1 million available for food pantries. 

The application is now closed.

Grant Program Goals & Background 

The Community Food Grants aim to:

  • Aid Colorado food pantries and food banks in the purchase and distribution of foods that better meet the needs of their communities

  • Expand access to culturally relevant and nutritionally appropriate foods within the charitable food system; and encourage the purchase of Colorado agricultural products and/or culturally or spiritually relevant food  

  • Ensure that the charitable food system is grounded in equity and responsive to community needs

Background:

The original Food Pantry Assistance Grants (FPAG) and Food Bank Assistance Grants (FBAG) programs were created to support organizations working directly in their Colorado communities to ensure everyone has access to healthy food options near where they live. Hunger Free Colorado led FPAG’s establishment in 2018, with support from its Colorado Food Pantry Network, the state legislature, and then-Governor Hickenlooper. In 2020, enacted legislation designated the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) as its grant administrator and expanded market opportunities for Colorado’s agricultural products. 

In Spring 2024, the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee allocated $3 million in funding for food assistance over the next five years through House Bill 2024-1407, creating the Community Food Assistance Provider Grant Program. (Advocacy efforts were co-led by Feeding Colorado and Hunger Free Colorado.) This means that the above programs have been recombined, similar to their structure prior to 2023. It’s now officially known as the Community Food Grants program.

The Blueprint administers the grant program, in partnership with CDHS. 

Funding & Eligibility 

Total funding available: $2,611,500 

  • Available for food pantries: $1,000,000

  • Already awarded for food banks: $1,611,500

Request range: $5,000 - $50,000


Eligibility:

Only 'food pantries' are eligible to apply for this funding; 'food banks' have already been awarded. (View definitions.)

Interested food pantries must meet the following general requirements as defined by House Bill 24-1407:

  • Be a food pantry. "Food pantry" means an individual site that buys food or receives donations of foods that are then directly distributed to those in its community. This includes faith-based organizations.

  • Previous Blueprint grant recipients must be in good standing to be eligible for this grant (i.e., having met all required deadlines for fund expenditure and reporting).

  • To the extent practicable, food purchased using these funds should be designated to one of the following:

    • A) A Colorado agricultural product; or

    • B) An agricultural product that holds cultural significance for Indigenous First Nations people, or for other cultures of subcultural groups, including the ways in which those agricultural products are produced.

  • 90% of funding must be spent on food purchases (locally in Colorado, when possible), and 10% can be spent on direct and indirect expenses associated with the distribution of food.

  • Spend the total awarded amount by June 30, 2025; no exceptions. (Note: The Blueprint expects to distribute funds to grantees by November 1, 2024.)

  • This funding cannot be used to purchase gift cards of any kind.

Application Process

Timeline: The application is now closed. The Blueprint intends to notify applicants about funding decisions on October 15, 2024. Grants will reopen in late summer 2025, contingent upon state funding.

Questions & Support

Contact us with additional questions not addressed in the frequently asked questions (FAQ) or elsewhere.