https://www.unitedway.org/nourishing-community https://www.unitedway.org/resilient-communities
×

Sign me up for updates. Sign up now

×
Donate Take Action
Press Release

National Board for Emergency Food and Shelter Program Announces $30 Million Available

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Way Worldwide, on behalf of the National Board for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, today announced that the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, signed into law on July 1, 2019, includes $30 million for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (DHS/FEMA) Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) to provide humanitarian aid to the southern border. This funding is available to reimburse eligible nonprofit, faith-based, and government entities that have expended funds on or after January 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020. Initial reimbursements will be for the period on or after January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019.

State and local social service organizations, including nonprofit, faith-based, and governmental, that have assisted migrants released from DHS custody at the southern border with shelter, food, and supportive services are eligible to apply for this supplemental funding. Only direct service costs will be considered eligible reimbursable expenditures.

Eligible organizations may apply, regardless of current or former EFSP participation, through their EFSP Local Boards (LB) or State Set-Aside (SSA) Committees. The application to apply will be made available on the EFSP website. More information about the application process, as well as guidance on finding EFSP LB and SSA contacts, can be found here.

The Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance grant provides funding to the EFSP National Board to disburse to State and local social service organizations to defray their costs in providing assistance to southern border migrants in need of food, shelter, and other supportive services. $25 million will be allocated to reimburse eligible services within Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas and $5 million will be allocated to reimburse eligible services in all states nationwide.

This is a competitive grant, so no application is guaranteed an award. Due to the limited funds, priority will be given to communities deemed to have been most impacted by this humanitarian crisis.

About the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP)
EFSP was established by Congress in 1983, in response to the 1982 Recession, which brought to light that public and charitable institutions at the state and local levels could not adequately respond to the nation’s homeless and food insecurity crises without Federal support. The program funds can be used for a broad range of services, including mass shelter; mass feeding; food distribution through food pantries and food banks; one-month assistance with rent or mortgage payments, and/or utility payments, to prevent evictions; and transition assistance from shelters to stable living conditions. EFSP is administered by a National Board chaired by FEMA, in partnership with American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., The Salvation Army, The Jewish Federations of North America, and United Way Worldwide, which serves as the National Board’s Secretariat and Fiscal Agent. Through the network of leading charitable organizations, the program is far-reaching, supporting the work of more than 10,000 local nonprofit and public social service agencies in more than 2,500 counties and cities across the country.

Media Contact

Southerlyn Reisig
Director of Public Relations 
southerlyn.reisig@uww.unitedway.org 
Tel. 703.836.7100 ext.321