Knox County Board members this week approved the granting of nearly $1.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to the Galesburg Community Foundation for their Hunger Collaborative Project.
The coalition of 27 non-profit organizations would look deeper than just feeding the hungry in trying to find the root causes of hunger and homelessness in the county.
Those root causes that have been identified include access/awareness of services, workforce/skill readiness, housing/homelessness, and transportation.
Josh Gibb, President and CEO of the foundation, spoke to the board on Wednesday night saying that the group formed during the pandemic.
“That’s what this group has really talked about. People who are hungry need food right when they need it. And they need [the need] to be eliminated,” Gibb told the board. “So, the reasons the Hunger Collaborative is existing is because what the Community Foundation is trying to do is bring effectiveness and unity of purpose to what our nonprofits are doing in the region around this one topic.”
There were disagreements among board members regarding the use of ARPA funds and the purpose of the grants the county established.
Some members spoke to the county needing to prepare for a future pandemic with these funds while others said that the money should be utilized to address issues that COVID exacerbated. Food insecurity was an issue that several nonprofits were addressing already during the pandemic.
Gibb agreed and said that there was so many resources out there that people didn’t know what to do with them. “Which is why the Community Foundation became really interested in this because our county, our communities, rallied during COVID because of food — because people were hungry. It’s the first need that needs to be met before you can move on to the next thing.”
The coordinated effort will be administered by the GCF. The funding from the County will last for three years and operate as a contract. All funds would be committed by 2024 and be spent by end of 2026 with the County providing oversight.
If circumstances change from County’s stance, the grant could be terminated but that wouldn’t include pulling back money already committed.
