Office of Food Systems Resilience Quarterly Newsletter: June 2025

Office of Food Systems Resilience | Quarterly Newsletter | June 2025

 

As we wrap up FY25, the Office of Food Systems Resilience (OFSR) has been engaging community partners, agencies, and residents through our programs as well as through site visits, community meetings, and conferences. The release of the County’s FY26 Approved Operating Budget underscores continued dedication by County leadership to building a better local food system. The OFSR looks forward to continued advancement of our innovative initiatives in the upcoming fiscal year.  

                 

The OFSR team after a budget hearing with the Montgomery County Health & Human Services Committee on April 25th. A recording of the hearing can be found here. 

• OFSR's FY26 Approved Operating Budget 
• Expanding Food Recovery 
• New Resource for Residents Seeking Food Assistance 
• Announcing OFSR's New Grantees 
• OFSR Program Highlights 
• Current and Upcoming Funding Opportunities 
• OFSR in the Community 
• Community Partner Announcements 
• Connect with Us 

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OFSR’s FY26 Approved Operating Budget 

In May, the Montgomery County Council voted unanimously to approve the County’s $7.6 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Operating Budget which includes nearly $14 million for ongoing and expanded OFSR initiatives that strategically enhance the efficiency, equity, sustainability, and resilience of the local food system. This includes overall consistent levels of funding for grant programs aligned with the Strategic Plan to End Childhood Hunger, except for a slight decrease in funding for the Resident and Community Gardening Grant Program and an enhancement of available resources to bolster school-based food assistance initiatives and diversify food resources for distributions through food recovery. It also reinforces the capacity of community-based organizations and nonprofits through funding for operational support and assistance, ensuring continuity of critical food assistance resources to residents in need. 

OFSR's FY26 strategy emphasizes building a more resilient local food assistance network through contracts and grant programs. 

OFSR's FY26 Approved Operating Budget Highlights: 

• Continue to lead the final transitions from pandemic-era funding approaches towards a long-term framework for strategic investment in food security programs, which includes reinforcing the solid foundation of existing resources while strategically implementing new initiatives that close service gaps, align with OFSR’s values of equity and resilience, and leverage available Federal and State funds; 
• Launch the next round of the Community Food Assistance Grant program, which supports local food service providers with direct funding and specialized access to shelf-stable and fresh foods for distribution to residents experiencing food insecurity while building the capacity and stability of the County’s food assistance network;
• Expand and enhance the County’s approach to implement the recommendations of the Strategic Plan to End Childhood Hunger, including: retail food access strategies via the MC Groceries program, and the Food as Medicine, School-Based Food Assistance, and Nutrition Benefits Outreach grant programs; and
• Strengthen local food production and distribution through strategic and creative investments in projects that aggregate, process, and/or distribute locally produced food, such as direct purchases from local food farms via Farm to Food Bank, grants for resident and community gardening projects, and operating and infrastructure funding for food aggregation that will expand local food demand and access.

Expanding Food Recovery  

           

The Nourish Now warehouse in Rockville stores recovered, surplus food from dedicated food donor partners including restaurants, grocers, caterers, farms, sporting venues, and more.    

Earlier this spring, the OFSR hosted interviews and collected survey responses from 25 local food recovery partners to identify opportunities for strengthening the County’s food recovery network. Partners shared a need for transportation, cold storage infrastructure, and enhanced coordination of donations and distribution. In response, the OFSR developed and launched a three-pronged approach to leverage food recovery as a means to increasing food security in Montgomery County. This approach includes:

• The FY25 Food Recovery Network Infrastructure Grant Program, launched in May, will award a total of $300,000 to support the purchase and installation of infrastructure such as shared-use cold storage, onsite composting systems for inedible organics, and refrigerated vehicles that will be used for transporting, storing, and distributing recovered food.
• Launching this summer, the FY26 Food Recovery Network Coordination (FRNC) Grant aims to improve efficiency, streamline operations and boost collaboration across the food recovery network. Eligible applicants must be nonprofit organizations experienced in coordinating community partners and not directly involved in food recovery.
• Starting this fall, food recovery programs will have a new way to access operational funding through OFSR’s Community Food Assistance (CFA) Grant Program. Applicants can choose to join the County’s Food Recovery Network—managed by the future awardee of the FRNC grant—to promote collaboration, reduce competition for donors and support data sharing among organizations. CFA applicants engaging in food recovery may also request a higher percentage of funding to cover operational costs such as staffing and transportation.

These efforts will expand resident access to fresh, nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste, support food assistance providers by improving storage, transportation and distribution, and benefit the broader community by reducing landfill waste, strengthening connections among food system partners and promoting sustainable solutions within our local food system. 

New Resource for Residents Seeking Food Assistance  

 

The OFSR recently developed and released a new resource for County residents seeking food assistance. This user-friendly flowchart helps connect residents with information about available services, both for those with immediate food assistance needs or those seeking longer-term nutrition benefits at the federal, state, or local levels. The digital version of flowchart is currently available on our website in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, French, and Amharic, and will be available in Spanish later this month. OFSR grantees and government partners can contact ofsr@montgomerycountymd.gov to request print copies of the bilingual flowchart.

 

Improving Community Health through Food and Education: Announcing the FY25 Food as Medicine and Nutrition Benefits Outreach Grantees  

                       

The FY25 Food as Medicine Grant Program has awarded $750,000 to six partnerships that represent collaboration between the healthcare sector, local farms, nutrition educators, and food assistance providers to fight food insecurity and diet-related disease by expanding access to medically relevant, locally grown foods and nutrition education. 

 

                               

In June, the FY25 Nutrition Benefits Outreach Grant Program awarded a total of $304,000 to six partners designated by the Maryland Department of Human Services as SNAP Community-Based Organizations (CBOs).  Through this funding, these six organizations will expand outreach efforts and provide enrollment support to Montgomery County residents eligible for SNAP and other state-level and federal nutrition benefits programs such as WIC, SUN Bucks, and the Free-and Reduced-Price Meals Program. 

Welcoming two additions to the OFSR team for Summer 2025 

         

Zach Benzaoui (Council Fellow, he/him/his) will be supporting OFSR efforts to research the impacts of federal policy on our local food system, review and analyze data related to OFSR food assistance grants, and identify innovative food policy initiatives from other parts of the country that could be replicated in Montgomery County. Zach is currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy degree at George Washington University, focusing on policy analysis, social policy, and urban policy.

Nadia Malik (Performance Data Fellow, she/her/hers) will be working on several OFSR projects this summer, including analyzing spending patterns and vendor relationships established by OFSR grantees, supporting survey development and testing for the Community Food Assistance (CFA) and Food as Medicine (FAM) programs, and conducting budget analysis to track grantee spending across food, operations, and staffing. Nadia is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Data Analytics through the University of Maryland. 

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OFSR Program Highlights 

The OFSR leverages data-driven strategies in every aspect of our work. Each of the 70+ organizations that are funded through our six grant programs submit reports on a semi-annual or more frequent basis that provide quantitative and qualitative data regarding the impact of their services to the community. The following quotes, collected through the FY25 Community Food Assistance Grant Quarter 2 (February 2025-May 2025) narrative reports, offer real-time insight into the ways this work is making a difference across the County:

• “We get so many blessings from the community when we provide groceries and much needed essential items like eggs and milk.”
• “For many, [the food we provide] is the only nutritious meal they have each week. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with comments such as: ‘I am very thankful...for this program, and the healthy, tasty lunches.’”
• “Running this program has been incredibly rewarding, as we have been able to provide essential food items to residents of our county who are in need of support.”

 

The Office of Food Systems Resilience's FY24 Impact Report, which is now available through our website, highlights extensive data points that demonstrate the impact of the County's food system investments made in 2024. These successes would not have been possible without the collaboration of more than 100 organizations, agencies, and residents that have informed our work and implemented innovative programs throughout 2024-2025. Thanks to our partners that continue to lead this work in the community.

 

Current and Upcoming Funding Opportunities

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OFSR in the Community

DMV Food Waste Prevention Week  

The OFSR was highly engaged in DMV Food Waste Prevention Week from April 7-13, participating in a tour of the Montgomery County Composting Education Hub at the Agricultural History Farm Park, a Food Waste Prevention Week Happy Hour Hosted by the Montgomery County Food Council and Manna Food Center at Brookeville Beer Farm, and an educational opportunity hosted by the Department of Environmental Protection at the Central Farm Market in Bethesda.

 

April Interagency Food System Convening  

 

Rainbow Community Development Center Site Visit  

On June 5th, the OFSR team joined Rainbow Community Development Center (Rainbow CDC) during their bi-weekly Thursday food distribution to learn more about their food recovery operations. Rainbow CDC rescues more than 500,000 pounds of food annually from a variety of food retailers and donor partners, which bolsters their ability to provide fresh produce, dairy, and meats to clients at each distribution. Rainbow CDC is supported by the OFSR’s FY25 Community Food Assistance and FY25 School-Based Food Assistance grant programs; between both programs, the organization serves approximately 2,250 Montgomery County households every month.

 

“En Sintonia con el Concejo” with OFSR’s Juan Cruz  

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Community Partner Announcements 

East County Hub Food Expo and Community Connections: The East County Hub, together with the Department of Recreation, Department of Health and Human Services, Manna Food Center, and multiple other community partners is hosting a community event on Saturday, June 21st to offer free groceries, health screenings, and various other resources to East County residents. 

             

Connect With Us

Have questions about grants, data collection, or operational challenges? 🤔

Join us for Community Conversations! These 15-minute sessions are your chance to connect with Montgomery County’s Office of Food Systems Resilience staff for support and guidance. 💡

📅 Sign up now via the QR code or using this link! #MontgomeryCounty

 

Questions? Please contact Catherine Nardi at catherine.nardi@montgomerycountymd.gov.