Food Rx: COVID-19 Patient Food Security Fund
Nourish is excited to announce the “Food Rx: COVID-19 Patient Food Security Fund” to help meet frontline healthcare needs in light of COVID-19, without duplicating government funding. The fund will provide support for health care organizations to meet the needs of their patients for whom the pandemic has created, or is exacerbating, food insecurity.
The goal of this fund is to catalyze health care anchor leadership and collaboration to address food insecurity created, or exacerbated by, COVID-19. Hospitals, health authorities, long-term care facilities, Indigenous health services, Aboriginal Health Access Centres, and Community Health Centres are invited to apply for projects that demonstrate a collaborative response to food insecurity in their community.
The Food Rx Fund is part of a collaboration of the McConnell Foundation and HealthCareCAN on sister funds to support healthcare organizations meet frontline needs in light of COVID-19. HealthCareCAN is administering the “COVID-19 Frontline Healthcare Staff Support Fund”, which supports frontline staff needs for childcare, counselling and healthy food, along with meeting patient needs for communications support to connect with their families. APPLY FOR BOTH FRONTLINE HEALTH FUNDS HERE.
Eligible Applicants
Health care organizations, including hospitals, health authorities long-term care facilities, Indigenous health services, Aboriginal Health Access Centres, and Community Health Centres. Applicants are encouraged to develop projects with community partners.
Eligible Projects
Food Rx funding can be used for initiatives such as:
Food Rx programs that screen patients for food insecurity and “prescribe” healthy food access (e.g. local food boxes, grocery store gift cards) to vulnerable patients being discharged from hospital, awaiting test results, self-isolating etc.
Healthy food programs that support isolation centre efforts for vulnerable patients to avoid transmission of the virus.
Food and cultural programming to support self-isolation efforts for local Indigenous communities to avoid transmission of the virus.
On-site food programs, such as gardens or markets, that support access to fresh, healthy food by patients, residents and families affected by COVID-19.
Building short supply chains for health care facilities by developing direct relationships with local, sustainable food producers (e.g. forward buying contracts) to build more resilient food systems.
Other projects that increase access to Indigenous foodways and planetary health menus that support wellbeing, and build more resilient local food systems.
Preference will be given to projects that demonstrate potential to scale and extend beyond addressing food insecurity highlighted by COVID-19, and that work towards centering food as a determinant of health.
Grant Size, Duration, Timing
Grant size: Up to $50,000
Duration: Funds must be spent within three months. However, proposals that leverage this funding to prototype and pilot projects that could continue beyond this time frame are encouraged.
Timing: Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted, with a final deadline of June 30.
Application Guidelines
Evaluation criteria: Projects in this granting program should demonstrate the following:
Build health equity by addressing food insecurity and improving access to healthy, culturally-appropriate food for patients.
Strong community partnerships that extend beyond the health organization to make linkages with existing community capacity.
High potential for learning and innovation around food as a social determinant of health, including the potential to continue or scale beyond project funding.
In-kind contributions towards the project by health care organizations and community partners.
Proposals that incorporate local, sustainable food sourcing and building direct relationships with producers, where suitable for patient populations, are encouraged.
Eligible project expenses can include:
Food and/or prepared meals
Food box or Community Shared Agriculture subscriptions and/or grocery store gift cards
Equipment needed for food preparation, storage and distribution
Hunter support expenses for acquisition of traditional and country foods (e.g. fuel, ammunition, traditional tobacco)
Project resources (e.g. garden tools, soil, seeds, outreach materials)
Staff, elder or knowledge keeper honorariums
Preference will be given to proposals that can leverage additional capacity and in-kind resources.
Funding will not be provided for:
Ongoing support for existing programs (i.e. the grant should reflect needing to increase capacity, or adapt programming or services, in response to COVID-19)
Non-traditional tobacco or other substances
Key dates
June 30, 2020: Proposal deadline
July/August 2020: Progress update calls scheduled with grantees
October 30: Grantees submit brief final report