America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant Opportunity

This grant is no longer available.

Department of Human Services, Office of Economic Opportunity (DHS OEO) has recently been awarded $14 million from the American Rescue Fund Act (ARPA). Funds will be allocated through a non-competitive application to Food Shelves, On-Site Meal Programs, Food Banks, Tribal Nations, and SNAP Outreach. Of this $14M total, $4.23M will be allocated to food shelves and meal programs, $4.2M will be allocated to Tribal Nations, $4.3M to food bank partners, and $1M to SNAP Outreach.

**Please note, these application instructions are for food shelves and meal programs. If you are a Tribal Nation, Food Bank, or SNAP Outreach provider, please look for communication specific to you with instructions on how to apply and receive funds.**

This new funding opportunity is available to current Food Shelves and On-Site Meal Program providers of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Funds are designated to increase the availability of culturally connected foods and build capacity of historically underinvested and underserved communities – specifically BIPOC and rural – in response to unmet needs and lessons learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds can be used to purchase, produce, process, transport, store, and coordinate the distribution of nutritious food. Allowable expenses include: food purchases, transportation costs, technology, operating costs, cooking and safe storage equipment, refrigeration and storage needs, mobile food distribution costs, PPE, and/or other COVID-19 related items.

  • This is a non-competitive funding opportunity.
  • Food shelves and on-site meal programs MUST fill out the online application no later than April 1, 2022 to apply for this funding. Application opens March 14, 2022
  • $4,230,000 will be allocated to eligible food shelves and meal programs in Minnesota
    • TEFAP Food Shelves will be eligible for: $12,000 base + additional funds based on food shelf service statistics
    • TEFAP On-Site Meal Programs will be eligible for $5,000
  • Hunger Solutions Minnesota (HSM) will coordinate the application process to disperse funds on behalf of the Department of Human Services, Office of Economic Opportunity (DHS OEO).
  • The estimated date of fund disbursement is May 1st, 2022.

To view the Final Report for the ARPA Grant (Due July 15th, 2023), click here.

Food Shelf Resources