Recent Grant Recipients
St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Bemus Point, NY (Food Insecurity)
St. Timothy has been an active part of the 5 Loaves & 2 Fishes Ministry since 2018, first as a donation site and now as an active packing location. This ministry provides bags of food to area students on Fridays as weekend supplementation to what they have at home. St. Timothy packs 700-900 bags of food a month! Grant funding allowed St. Timothy to defray the cost of the 5 & 2 Ministry, making it possible to continue to provide food items to local students in need.
Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach, Rochester, NY (Criminal Justice)
The New Beginnings: Next Chapter Program provides stable housing and wrap-around reentry support for individuals returning to the community after incarceration. This program reduces stress and anxiety by helping residents secure housing, reconnect with family, and gain access to health and wellness services. The grant was used to provide basic household and self-care supplies for newly released residents. These essential items promote dignity, reduce immediate stress, and help residents focus on their recovery and reintegration.
Saint's Place, Rochester, NY (Biblical Justice)
The Saint’s Place Bed Program strives to assist refugees who are new to our community with household items they need to start rebuilding their lives. Saint’s Place provides a new bed, bedding, and all other items needed to make a strange new place feel like home. The main goal of Saint’s Place is to “Welcome the Stranger.” With over 25 years of service in the Rochester community, Saint's Place remains steadfast in its mission to provide hope, dignity, and a foundation for a brighter future - one family, one home, and one smile at a time.
King Urban Life Center, Buffalo, NY (Racial Justice)
The King Urban Life Center (KULC) works in direct partnership with community residents to utilize its historic building as a catalyst for radical educational, economic, and social change, striving to create a prosperous neighborhood where families and individuals thrive. To help foster this vibrant environment, the center utilized grant funding to expand their Family Fun Fridays, a free monthly event that brings the community together for dinner, entertainment, and engaging activities for all ages.
Foodlink, Inc., Rochester, NY (Food Insecurity)
Foodlink's Urban Agriculture program aims to cultivate the next generation of healthy eaters by connecting students and communities with the food system through hands-on education and collaboration. By partnering with local schools and community organizations, the program designs and builds thriving educational gardens that bring agricultural and nutritional learning directly to students. Through interactive lessons focused on our core "Edible Education" curriculum, the initiative creates spaces that foster neighborhood collaboration, wellness, and local food production. Ultimately, Foodlink is working toward a future where every elementary school student in the City of Rochester has regular access to the farm for hands-on agricultural learning, sowing the seeds for a healthier, more sustainable community.
Blessings in a Backpack, Fulton, NY (Food Insecurity)
Established in 2013, the Fulton, New York chapter of Blessings in a Backpack is a volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to bridging the weekend nutritional gap for food-insecure children. Recognizing that many students who rely on school meal programs face hunger when classes are not in session, the organization mobilizes community donations and grants to provide healthy, kid-friendly food bags to 280 at-risk elementary students across all four city schools. By ensuring these children have consistent access to nourishment between Friday's lunch and Monday's breakfast, the program aims to combat the physical and academic consequences of food insecurity, supporting a future where every child has the fuel they need to learn and grow.
https://giving.blessingsinabackpack.org/organizations/fulton-ny-1764
Lutheran Campus Ministry, Syracuse, NY (Food Insecurity)
Lutheran Campus Ministry has created a program that provides weekly meals to food-insecure students throughout the academic year. By supplying the necessary ingredients, the initiative empowers students who need hunger support to prepare their own meals, fostering both independence and reliable access to essential nutrition.
Asbury First Methodist Church, Rochester, NY (Food Insecurity)
The Grocery Bag Ministry delivers 80 bags of much-needed groceries each month to one or two inner-city churches, where they are distributed to needy congregation members, and to the Keeping Our Promise (KOP) Refugees, a support program to assist recent family arrivals. Food is donated by Asbury First members and other members of the community. Volunteers organize and bag the groceries, and facilitate delivery. It’s a collaboration that tackles food uncertainty in the community head-on.
Zion ELC, Clarence Center, NY (Food Insecurity)
Serving as one of the many meaningful community initiatives at Zion Lutheran Church in Clarence, NY, the "Little Free Food Pantry" stands right on the church grounds as a beacon of support. Designed to be a helping hand for anyone in need, this welcoming resource is consistently stocked with nonperishable food and essential personal care items, offering both dignity and reliable assistance to the local community.
Parkside Lutheran Church, Buffalo, NY (Food Insecurity)
This spring, Parkside Lutheran Church is launching an exciting new Community Garden designed to provide fresh, locally grown produce to the "Loaves and Fishes Room," the church's client-choice food pantry. This new garden will directly enhance the pantry's ability to serve an average of 225 households each month across the 14214, 14216, and 14217 zip codes. Supported by a dedicated team of volunteers—and a renovated space that allows neighbors to select their groceries with dignity—the garden marks an inspiring expansion of the church’s long-standing hunger-relief efforts.
Messiah Lutheran, Lewiston, NY (Food Insecurity)
Committed to the health and well-being of the region, Messiah Lutheran has recently expanded its community garden. This vibrant, compassionate initiative is dedicated to nourishing the community by providing free, fresh, and nutritious produce to lower-income residents throughout rural Niagara County, ensuring that healthy, locally grown food is accessible to those who need it most.
Zion ELC, Niagara Falls, NY (Social Justice)
The Share and Care ministry at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church serves as a vital lifeline for the Niagara Falls community. This compassionate outreach program directly assists individuals and families facing economic hardship by providing essential everyday necessities, including clothing and household goods. By offering these critical resources, the ministry helps our neighbors navigate challenging times with both practical assistance and dignity.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064279316245&sk=about