LONG BEACH, CA – The City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) has launched two Request for Proposals (RFPs) to provide support to nonprofits or community-based organizations to establish, continue and/or expand programs that improve access to nutrition assistance programs and provide food distribution events to populations most impacted by COVID-19 and experiencing high levels of nutrition insecurity.
The demand for food assistance among lower income families has risen during the pandemic, due to loss of work and/or wages from business closures and unemployment. April 12 through May 13, 2022, eligible organizations are encouraged to submit proposals through the City’s Vendor Portal, PlanetBids.
The following funding opportunities are available for organizations to apply to:
- Community Food Access Programs: Seeking nonprofits or organizations with a fiscal agent to establish, expand and/or improve the healthfulness of food access projects that are part of a larger, comprehensive nutrition security initiative. Food Access Projects are defined as:
- Community food pantries
- Food waste/food recovery programs that link recovered food to a community service organization or housing facility
- And similar other non-temporary food access projects.
Proposed projects must include efforts to link households to federal nutrition assistance programs (Women, Infants and Children WIC, CalFresh, etc.) and must provide or connect participants to food resource management classes (comprehensive nutrition education classes/program). The City will prioritize funding for projects that reach households living in the priority zone as indicated on the RFP map.
- Emergency Food Distribution Events: Seeking nonprofits or community-based organizations to start up, continue and/or expand drive-thru and/or non-vehicle (walk-up) healthy food distribution events to populations most impacted by COVID-19 and experiencing high levels of nutrition insecurity. This funding is for events that are not part of a comprehensive nutrition security or nutrition education program. Examples include distributions at:
- Private business parking lots
- Community organization sites
- Parks
- And similar locations that provide households in need with easy access to fruits, vegetables and other healthy staple groceries.
The City will prioritize funding for projects that reach households living in the priority zone as indicated on the RFP map.
Specific details related to project scope areas, eligibility requirements and submission instructions are available at PlanetBids for the Emergency Food Distribution Events RFP and Community Food Access Projects RFP. The City also has developed an instructional video about the registration process.
This program is made possible by the Long Beach Recovery Act, a plan to fund economic and public health initiatives for Long Beach residents, workers and businesses critically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional information about the Long Beach Recovery Act is available at longbeach.gov/recovery.