The Whidbey Community Foundation recently launched the Whidbey Food Resilience Fund, a coordinated community response to the growing food insecurity facing island residents following the recent reduction in federal SNAP benefits, according to a press release.

The new fund — seeded with $50,000 with board approval from WCF’s discretionary reserve — will provide rapid, equitable grants to food banks, meal programs and other community-based organizations. The goal of the fund is to ensure that Whidbey residents have reliable access to nutritious food during the holiday season and beyond.

“Every donor who has ever given to our foundation fund helped make this new effort possible,” said Jessie Gunn, executive director of the Whidbey Community Foundation. “The Whidbey Food Resilience Fund allows us to respond quickly and collaboratively — supporting the organizations feeding our neighbors right now, while strengthening the long-term network that keeps Whidbey nourished.”

The fund builds on WCF’s proven COVID-19 Community Resilience Fund model, which distributed over $450,000 in rapid-response grants during the pandemic. As with that initiative, the Whidbey Food Resilience Fund emphasizes partnership, transparency and shared leadership among community organizations, funders and local government partners.

Initial grants will focus on core food-access organizations across Whidbey Island — including food banks, community meal programs, youth backpack and school-based nutrition efforts and other initiatives addressing food insecurity.

A portion of the fund will also support smaller or emerging efforts, such as church-based and seasonal meal programs, through a simplified mini-grant process.

WCF emphasized that this fund is not intended to replace donors’ direct contributions to local food banks and food-serving organizations. Instead, it offers an additional, coordinated option for those who wish to help meet island-wide needs equitably.

WCF will work with food-access partners across North, Central and South Whidbey to identify needs, collect data and distribute funds equitably. A full list of funded organizations will be shared following the first round of grant distributions, expected later this month.

The foundation will continue to maintain and share an updated list of food-serving organizations and meal programs to ensure broad visibility and public accountability in how resources are coordinated.

The Whidbey Food Resilience Fund is open to contributions from individuals, families, businesses and community groups.

To donate or learn more, visit WhidbeyFoundation.org, email info@whidbeyfoundation.org or call 360-660-5041. The Foundation accepts donations by credit card, check, and gifts of securities. Checks can be made out to “Whidbey Community Foundation” with a note in the memo for “Food Resilience Fund” and mailed to P.O. Box 1135, Coupeville, WA 98239.