Recent grants from the Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) are providing support to Church of the Brethren-related projects in Illinois, Maryland, Spain, and Honduras. The four grants total $28,456.
Illinois
An allocation of $10,000 supports the community food outreach program of Champaign (Ill.) Church of the Brethren. Funds will be used for the expansion of the congregation’s community food outreach programs through the purchase and installation of a walk-in cooler. Approximately $3,500 of this grant will go to electrical work and kitchen modifications to meet local building codes.
Spain
An allocation of $5,826 supports the community garden work of Una Luz en las Naciones (A Light to the Nations), a congregation of the Church of the Brethren in Spain, located in Gijon, Asturias. This project serves between 70-75 families that have little or no employment. The grant will help cover land rental and preparation costs, the purchase of vegetable seedlings for transplanting, irrigation hoses, and fertilizers. A previous grant to this project was given in May last year, totaling $3,251.
An allocation of $5,630 supports the community garden work of Cristo la Unica Esperanza (Christ the Only Hope), a congregation of the Church of the Brethren in Spain, located in Lanzarote, the Canary Islands. This project serves between 60-70 families that have little or no regular employment. The fresh produce from the garden complements the congregation’s work with the Spanish Red Cross on canned and boxed food distributions. The grant will help cover land rental and preparation costs, and the purchase of water, seeds, and fertilizers. A previous grant to this project was given in April last year, totaling $1,825.
Honduras
An allocation of $5,000 supports Iglesia Cristiana Viviendo en Amor y Fe (VAF), a church congregation in Honduras. VAF has received support in the past from Church of the Brethren congregations in western Pennsylvania, and receives technical support from Proyecto Aldea Global (Project Global Village), a GFCF partner founded by Church of the Brethren member Chester Thomas. Funds will be used in VAF’s Culture of Peace and Economic Development project that includes both peace education and business development classes. It is anticipated that this project will have 330 direct beneficiaries in two communities, including children, teenagers, women, and men.
Maryland
An allocation of $2,000 supports expansion of the community garden work of Community of Joy Church of the Brethren in Salisbury, Md. This congregation helped to found a community gardening effort that goes by the name of Camden Community Gardens. The project wants to add two new garden sites. The grant funds will purchase lumber for raised beds and soil for the gardens. Previously this congregation received a $1,000 mini-grant through the Going to the Garden initiative of the GFCF and the Office of Public Witness.
For more about the Global Food Crisis Fund, go to www.brethren.org/gfcf