The Connection, Health, & Equity through Food (CHEF) Grant Program is a collaborative network of organizations and volunteer initiatives across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Eastern Massachusetts, and Upstate New York that are focused on increasing older adults’ equitable access to healthy food and social connection.
Donor Name: Maine Council on Aging
State: Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/30/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Connection, Health, & Equity through Food (CHEF) grant program will provide funding to increase older adults’ equitable access to food and social connections in their communities. Grants will allow awardees to make investments in programmatic infrastructure, sustainably expand current programming and/or launch innovative, new programming that supports the food and social connection needs of older people. Priority will be given to projects and programs that serve diverse older people, veterans, and older people living with disabilities. Funds can also be used to help find solutions to the root causes of food insecurity and social isolation, including but not limited to poverty, transportation, rurality, and language barriers.
The CHEF program is administered by the Maine Council on Aging.
Purpose
The focus of this grant program is to increase older adults’ equitable access to healthy food and social connection, with a particular focus on rural communities and underserved and marginalized older people including:

BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)
LGBTQ+- (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer or Questioning)
Women
Veterans
People Living with Disabilities
People Living in Rural Communities.

Funding Information
The minimum amount that can be requested is $500. Although no maximum has been set, they would anticipate that most grants would be in the $2,000 – $10,000 range.
Eligibility Criteria 
The grant-funded activity must primarily serve older people. Thus, if your program serves people of all ages, you should provide data on the number of older people served, and this number must be 50.1% of the overall population served, or the grant-funded activity should focus primarily on the older adults currently being served.
Grants will only be made to applicants serving older people in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Eastern Massachusetts, and Upstate New York. Applicants must serve people who may access a Hannaford Supermarket to purchase food. The organization itself does not have to be located in a community with a Hannaford store. As an example, any statewide organization in one of these states would qualify. Regional organizations that serve at least one community with a Hannaford Supermarket qualify, even if the other communities do not. They recognize that people in some rural areas may drive a substantial distance for groceries, so they will be liberal in interpreting this restriction.
Eligible Organizations:

Public and non-profit organizations
Municipalities
Faith Groups
Tribal Governments
Educational Institutions
Note: If you do not have an IRS nonprofit or 501(c)3 designation, please find a fiscal sponsor for your program/idea.

For more information, visit Maine Council on Aging.