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(Washington D.C.)- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that Macomb County will receive $660,795 from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. A local board, chaired by the United Way for Southeast Michigan, will now accept grant applications and divide the funding between social service organizations in Macomb County to supplement and expand ongoing efforts to provide shelter, food and support services.
The funding for Macomb County is a reallocated portion of $100 million made available for the program by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Michigan received a total of $4.2 million in reallocated funding.
“Our community has been hit hard by the difficult economy and many families cannot put food on the table without assistance from soup kitchens and food pantries,” said Rep. Levin. “The service providers in Macomb, who know the challenges facing local families firsthand, are well-equipped to quickly put this funding to good use.”
The Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) was created in 1983 to supplement the work of public and private local social service organizations. Recipient organizations, which are chosen by an EFSP Local Board, can be used to fund mass shelter, mass feeding, food distribution through food pantries and food banks, one-month utility payments to prevent cut-offs, and one-month rent/mortgage assistance to prevent eviction.
The United Way for Southeastern Michigan is accepting grant applications on behalf of the Macomb EFSP Local Board. An applying organization must be a nonprofit or government agency, have the capacity to provide emergency food and/or shelter services, have at least one full time paid staff person, and must use the funding to supplement and extend existing resources and not to substitute or reimburse ongoing programs and services. For more information contact the United Way for Southeastern Michigan at 313.226.9353.
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