WASHINGTON -- Yesterday, FEMA awarded $110 million in supplemental humanitarian funding to the National Board for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.
The National Board will award these funds to eligible local nonprofit and governmental organizations and state governmental facilities that have aided, or will aid, individuals and families encountered by the Department of Homeland Security at the southern U.S. border.
Local nonprofit, faith-based and governmental entities that have provided, or will provide, humanitarian relief to individuals and families at the southern border with shelter, food and supportive services are eligible to apply. Applications will be completed and submitted to EFSP local boards. State government facilities that provided eligible direct services will apply through their EFSP State Set-Aside Committee.
FEMA announced last Friday that $510 million in supplemental funding is being made available to the EFSP via the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” to assist organizations in communities across the country dedicated to providing food, shelter and supportive services to people with economic emergencies, including our nation's hungry and homeless populations.
The Act provided $400 million for local social service organizations aiding our nation’s hungry and homeless. The additional $110 million is for organizations providing humanitarian assistance to migrants at the southern border.
The Emergency Food and Shelter Program was established to supplement and expand the ongoing work of local social service organizations, both nonprofit and governmental, to provide shelter, food and supportive services to individuals and families who are experiencing, or are at-risk of experiencing, hunger and homelessness. FEMA chairs the National Board that consists of representatives from several nonprofit organizations.
Program funds help people with economic, not disaster-related, emergencies. Funds can be used for a broad range of services, including: mass sheltering; mass feeding; assistance to food pantries and food banks; payment of one month’s utility bills to prevent loss of services; payment of one-month’s rent or mortgage to prevent eviction or foreclosure; and transition assistance from shelters to stable living conditions.
Additional information including local board and state set-aside committee contacts is available on the EFSP website. Organizations may also send an email request to suppfund@uww.unitedway.org or call at 703-706-9660 to obtain local board and State Set-Aside contact information.
All applications shall be evaluated competitively. Reimbursement and prospective awards addressing humanitarian needs such as life sustaining food and shelter expenses will be given priority.