Keeping It Cool Grants

Keeping It Cool Grants is sponsored by The Morningstar Foundation, Bainum Family Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation (administered by Capital Impact Partners). These grants are awarded to D. C.

D. C. Area Food Businesses, Nonprofits Get $700k for Cold Storage - Capital Impact Partners May 1, 2024 (Washington, D.

C.) – More than $700,000 in grants have been awarded to 22 food businesses and nonprofits to help them grow while expanding access to healthy food for communities in the Washington metro area. The “Keeping It Cool” grants, funded by The Morningstar Foundation, provide these businesses and nonprofits with something essential that many might otherwise take for granted — cold storage infrastructure.

The grants will go toward refrigerators, freezers, coolers, delivery vehicles, display cases and other upgrades. This year’s small business recipients include local restaurants, grocery markets, meal kit manufacturers, meal delivery services, farms and farmers’ market vendors.

Nonprofit grantees include kitchen incubators, food pantries, food banks, and other services dedicated to making sure that people have access to healthy, fulfilling meals. This is the second year that The Morningstar Foundation has funded the “Keeping It Cool” grants. Additional support was provided by the Bainum Family Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation.

“We are thrilled to support Keeping It Cool this year because we recognize the ongoing, significant challenges related to food access through the region. Additional cold storage is critical to getting healthy food to populations that need it most,” said Susie and Michael Gelman, Directors of The Morningstar Foundation.

“We understand that different organizations and entrepreneurs have distinct needs, and we also have learned more about differences throughout the region. Keeping it Cool not only provides resources to purchase the cold storage while also providing technical assistance tailored to support specific needs for each entity.

We are proud that Keeping it Cool makes a difference to these innovative organizations and food businesses while also strengthening economic development in our region. ” Capital Impact Partners — a nonprofit headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that is part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations — serves as the grants manager.

“Adding cold storage can help businesses and nonprofits overcome a huge barrier to growth so that they can serve more people in their communities,” said Alison Powers, Director of Economic Opportunities at Capital Impact Partners . “These grants are not just about keeping food cool. They will allow these businesses and nonprofits to create quality jobs, increase energy efficiency, and improve food safety and food access.

” The grantees are located in D. C. and the surrounding area in Maryland and Virginia: Arlington, Fairfax, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties.

The 10 businesses receiving grants are: Chinese Street Market (doing business as Dàn Dàn Boy ); Washington, D. C. , $16,000 FishScale ; Washington, D.

C. , $50,000 The Fresh Food Factory Market ; Washington, D. C.

, $24,000 Green Fish LLC (dba as Fight Juice) ; Washington, D. C. , $50,000 Kalu’s Seasoning Blends and Catering (dba Trini Vybez) ; Washington, D.

C. , $11,946 My Kabul Restaurant and Cafe ; Laurel, Maryland, $50,000 One Acre Farm LLC ; Dickerson, Maryland, $33,900 Red Savina (dba Roots ‘n Shoots) ; Arlington, Virginia, $19,850 Run Veggie LLC ; Washington, D.

C, $37,000 Strong Fit Meals LLC (dba Healthy Fresh Meals) ; Hyattsville, Maryland, $50,000 “Healthy Fresh Meals has been expanding its partnerships with the Senior Nutrition Program in the state of Maryland and beyond to provide healthy and nutritious meals to seniors aging in place,” said owner Shana Greenbaum.

“We are running into cold storage issues to keep up with our growing programs, so this money will help us build out a new walk-in cooler to store all the daily meals that go out for all of our programs. We will be able to increase demand thanks to this new addition and take on more partners, such as Meals on Wheels, to increase access.

” The 12 nonprofits receiving grants are: Arlington Bridge Builders ; Arlington, Virginia, $22,000 Bridges to Independence ; Arlington, Virginia, $10,853 Capital Area Food Bank ; Washington, D. C. and Fairfax County, Virginia, $30,000 Common Good City Farm ; Washington, D.

C. , $42,847 Community FarmShare ; Montgomery County, Maryland, $50,000 Consortium for Sustainable Workforce (dba The Consortium) ; Washington, D. C.

, $10,000 Destiny Point; Washington, D. C. , $12,960 Festival Center ; Washington, D.

C. , $27,000 The Hope Foundation Reentry Network (dba Community Cafe); Washington, D. C.

, $43,000 Shepherd’s Table ; Montgomery County, Maryland, $43,975 Washington DC Meals on Wheels Inc. (dba Meals on Wheels of Takoma Park/Silver Spring) ; Montgomery County, Maryland, $15,000 Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington ; Montgomery County, Maryland, $50,000 “The freezers help Bridges to Independence to accept more donations of perishable items, reducing food waste and providing a wider variety of healthy options for the children and families staying at our emergency shelter for families, Sullivan House,” said Fraser Murdoch, CEO of Bridges to Independence.

“The added freezer capacity improves nutrition for the families and creates a more stable and comforting environment during what can be a challenging time. The grant enhances the emergency shelter’s ability to provide food and promotes the well-being and health of the families we serve.

” Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations , is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve.

As one of the nation’s leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), we help build strong communities and create generational wealth by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

Capital Impact Partners offers flexible financing for catalytic mission-aligned projects in four primary sectors: increasing access to health care, education, affordable housing, and healthy food.

In addition, we manage several multi-year initiatives in key regions to support emerging developers, small business owners, cooperatives, and community health enterprises through training, professional networks, access to experts and mentors, and pathways to grants and loan capital.

Capital Impact Partners has disbursed more than $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch Ratings and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance , as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital and Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer, MSRB-registered, FINRA/SIPC member).

While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products. With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D. C.

metro area. Learn more at capitalimpact. org and momentuscap.

org . The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance , as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital , and Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer, MSRB-registered, FINRA/SIPC member).

While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, its clients now have access to more resources and products. The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve.

We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help entrepreneurs, community-based organizations, and local leaders at every growth stage to build strong communities and create generational wealth.

This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology solutions that advance locally-led solutions.

Leveraging more than 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations has delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 298,000 jobs, and served 14,350 small businesses and 6 million people across our history.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D. C. metro area.

Learn more at momentuscap. org . Nourish DC Grant Awards $625,000 to Locally Owned DC Food Businesses Capital Impact Partners Awarded $85 Million in New Markets Tax Credits to Attract Private Capital and Advance Social Impact Efforts Innovative Organizations Receive $205,000 in Grants From Capital Impact Partners and National Cooperative Bank The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.

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