Food Security Cooperative Expenditure Grant Solicitation

Ramsey County has determined that the services required by this grant are critical to the needs of Ramsey County residents. As a result, following the initial deadline of July 8, 2024, this application will re-open on July 9, 2024 and remain open through December 10, 2024. After reviewing applications received by the initial deadline, proposals will be reviewed as they are received. 

Resulting cooperative expenditure grant agreements will include negotiated contract terms not exceeding five (5) years.

What is a cooperative expenditure grant agreement?

The award of a cooperative expenditure grant agreement is not a guarantee of funding. If awarded a Food Security Cooperative Expenditure Grant, you enter a pool with other approved grantees who have demonstrated the capacity to deliver a necessary service. When a county department identifies a need which aligns with a grantee’s specified services, that department will issue a statement of work (SOW) outlining the county’s needs. The SOW serves as the mechanism for the county and grantee to agree upon terms, services and costs. And the county department which issues the SOW pays for it from its own budget.

Our food security team works across multiple county departments to meet the food distribution demands of the community in many service areas. These include libraries, the Sheriff’s Office, the Appropriate Responses Initiative team, Housing Stability, Community Corrections, Detox, Emergency Management and others.

We intend to increase participation from a wider array of organizations with the flexibility necessary to support direct services. This replaces existing food safety-net contracts with a pool of organizations who demonstrate the ability to address immediate, emerging and long-term needs.

Our goals include: 

1. Increasing the availability of culturally appropriate foods for distribution that meets the need of our ethnically and racially diverse community. 
2. Increasing the availability of medically appropriate foods for distribution, such as foods that meet diabetic and cardiovascular diets or other healthy foods (fresh or frozen, less processed, fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, eggs and meat). 
3. Improving infrastructure, staffing or other supplies to reach those who may be underserved. 
4. Increasing support for food banks or specialty markets by purchasing more food and basic needs supplies, such as hygiene items or baby diapers, from them.
5. Expanding outreach to youth, young adults, pregnant, seniors and ethnically and racially diverse community members. Including those who don’t speak English or are otherwise systemically underserved. This may result in referrals to Ramsey County for services or resources to meet basic needs, such as housing services, SNAP, WIC or other services as appropriate. 

These outcomes support our broader strategic priorities:

• Advancing a Holistic Approach to Strengthen Families and Individuals
• 2024/2025 Food Security Strategic Plan