Houston Food Bank ARPA Grant Accepting Applications from Harris County

Houston Food Bank $3.5M ARPA Grant Accepting Applications from Harris County

Signed into law on March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides $350 billion in additional funding for state and local governments. These funds can be used to address the negative economic impacts caused by public health emergencies; replace lost public sector revenue; provide premium pay for essential workers; and invest in broadband infrastructure.

Houston Food Bank will use the ARPA Grant funds in a three-prong strategy to expand capacity, operations, and partnerships.

From the grant, $1.1 million is going into existing partnerships, and $1.35 million will be going to existing Houston Food Bank sub-grantees (Target Hunger, Brighter Bites and Plant it Forward Farms).

RESPONSES TO ARPA INFO SESSION QUESTIONS
08.17.23 and 08.21.23

1. Can we apply for multiple funding categories?
   Yes, you may apply within more than one category if you meet the eligibility criteria.
2. What are wrap-around services?
   Wrap around services pertain to programs and services aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability. Examples include, nutrition education, health management, job training, and help in securing State funding assistance.
3. Will the grant provide food drives for the community?
   None of the ARPA ECOP grant opportunities support the provision of food drives. Please refer to the grant guidelines for what each grant will support.
4. We provide additional services but not through HFB.  Will this be considered?
   Yes – you do not have to utilize HFB programs to provide wrap-around services.
5. Where on the website will the Q&A be posted?
   The location will be clearly indicated on the HFB website homepage.
6. What is a Hub Partner?
   The Hub and Spoke Distribution model was developed to help HFB to be more effective and efficient in meeting the growing needs of the communities we serve. An HFB Hub partner serves as a distribution point for smaller distribution partners (Spokes). Spokes are smaller pantry partners that do not meet the minimum poundage requirements to have direct delivery. Agencies who are “Spokes” place their orders with HFB and pick up their orders from the Hub locations.
7. Where can I access the budget template you want used for these requests?
   A budget template has not been created for this grant opportunity. Please submit a budget that reflects how you would utilize the grant funds, in accordance with the allowable funding categories, to achieve the desired purpose specified within the grant guidelines.
8. Partner Hub Grant – Hubs or Hub-eligible organizations must meet all the following criteria:
   1. Serve or are willing to serve at least two or more Spoke partners that serve the targeted ARPA ZIP codes.
   2. Have at least four (4) distributions serving at least 500 households and distributing at least 70,000 pounds of food, each month.
   3. Offer client choice on a regular basis.
   4. Participate in retail pick-up.
9. Question about the Supplemental Labor Grant: Is there possibility for collaboration between agencies (e.g. our agency provides outreach support and strategy to target surrounding ARPA ZIP codes and space to do the work to serve clients, but Houston Food Bank “shares” a navigator where this grant could provide funding for more time and they are paid through our organization for that time – perhaps someone who is part time or under an expiring grant that we could onboard quickly, particularly since the grant is for a finite time?
   Funding support to utilize HFB staff in any way is not an allowable expense within the Supplemental Labor grant.
10. Partner HUB Grant- the four distributions, households and 70k per month would have to serve clients in the listed zip codes? We do not reside in one of those zip codes and while we meet those metrics monthly it would not be in those targeted zip codes. Please elaborate on if we would qualify under this grant?
    Not necessarily. What’s specified in the criteria are the minimum distribution requirements for a Hub organization across all the communities it serves. To qualify for the ARPA Hub Grant award, a Hub should demonstrate how it plans to utilize the grant funding to substantially expand its distribution within the targeted ARPA zip codes and how it proposes to sustain the expanded distribution beyond the grant period.
11. For partner network infrastructure grant and capacity building, if your organization has recently taken on many more hours of work focused on partnership with the Food Bank, but has no extra funding to do so, can it be considered to apply for capacity-building to help offset the increase of demand that now encumbers the staffs’ time? The ARPA Infrastructure grant.
    Staff compensation is not an allowable ARPA Infrastructure grant expense. Allowable operating expenses within the Infrastructure grant include operational equipment such as forklifts and refrigerators, which would enable partners to move and store food more efficiently and safely.
12. Regarding the Infrastructure grant – What are examples of approved Operation Expenses?
    Allowable operating expenses within the ARPA Infrastructure grant include operational equipment such as forklifts and refrigerators, which would enable partners to move and store food more efficiently and safely.
13. Please elaborate on the statement – Serve or access to serve neighbors in the ARPA ZIP codes.
    Grant recipients must be located within or near one or more of the targeted ARPA ZIP codes and serve the neighbors within those targeted ARPA ZIP codes.