Montpelier’s Hunger Mountain Coop has announced the recipients of their 2013 Cooperative Community Fund grants. The recipients included the Montpelier Senior Center, Morrisville Food Cooperative, Washington County Youth Services, Northfield Senior Center, Floating Bridge Cooperative and Prevent Child Abuse Vermont. The Coop awards these yearly grants to local businesses, organizations and initiatives that are doing work to enrich the Central Vermont Community and further The Coop’s Mission of building a dynamic community of healthy individuals, sustainable local food systems and thriving cooperative commerce. “The Cooperative Community Fund is another way for our Coop to work together to further our collective vision of a more healthy and sustainable community in Central Vermont,” said General Manager Kari Bradley.
The grants will support a variety of projects including the Montpelier Senior Center’s effort to incorporate more local foods into its Meals on Wheels program and a feasibility study for Morrisville Food Co-op. “With 20 applications this year, the process for deciding which grants to award was particularly challenging” said Bradley. “There are a lot of great projects being planned around local food and community right now.”
The Hunger Mountain Coop Council (The Coop’s governing Board of Directors) created the Hunger Mountain Cooperative Community Fund in 2005 as a charitable giving program. The Fund provides financial support to businesses, organizations and initiatives aligned with The Coop’s Mission. In 2012 The Coop awarded a total of $3,600 in grants to Granite City Grocery, Vermont Foodbank and Fat Toad Farm for exciting new projects. The Fund has grown steadily thanks to generous donations from The Coop’s Member-Owners and community. The Fund is used to support local businesses in need of start-up capital, to fund construction of key infrastructure projects like community kitchens, and to encourage local activism on food-related issues in central Vermont.
Anyone can make a tax-deductible donation to the Hunger Mountain Cooperative Community Fund, Member-Owner or not. More information can be found online at www.hungermountain.coop or by calling 802-223-8000 ext. 219.
