City of Norfolk’s Nourish the City Grant

The City of Norfolk, through its Office of Resilience, administers the Nourish the City Grant, a mini-grant initiative designed to combat food insecurity and promote equitable access to nutritious, affordable food across Norfolk, Virginia. Supported by the Norfolk Food Policy Council, a community-led coalition, the grant was launched in response to critical data showing that 15.4% of Norfolk residents, including 26.6% of children, face food insecurity. This program enables local organizations to propose and implement community-based food access projects that contribute directly to health equity, food justice, and long-term resilience. The Nourish the City Grant provides mini-grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. Funded projects can include but are not limited to community gardens, food cooperatives, farmers markets, and food pantries. These grants are part of the City’s broader Nutritional Equity Fund, which allocated $287,000 to address food and health disparities. Out of this total, $240,000 was earmarked for three grant cycles of $80,000 each, with the remaining funds reserved for administrative costs and potential future expansions of the program. Awarded funds are intended strictly for project-related expenditures and cannot exceed $10,000 per applicant per cycle. Eligibility for this grant is limited to organizations operating within the City of Norfolk, including 501(c)(3) nonprofits, civic leagues, neighborhood associations that are recognized non-profit or non-stock legal entities, and local businesses that partner with eligible nonprofits. Entities located in neighboring cities may apply only if they collaborate with a Norfolk-based organization. Public schools cannot apply directly due to their status as government entities, but may participate through partnerships with qualified applicants. Only one application per organization is accepted per cycle. Projects on city-owned property require coordination with, and contact information for, a designated City employee. Applications for the 2025 cycle opened on July 15 and close on August 26, 2025. Applicants can seek guidance during two scheduled virtual office hours sessions via Microsoft Teams: July 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and July 30 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There are no pre-application deadlines. The opportunity is not offered on a rolling basis but is expected to recur annually, based on the program’s established cycle and funding structure. Assuming this recurrence pattern continues, the next cycle is anticipated to open in August 2026. All applications are evaluated by a review committee composed of representatives from various City departments. The evaluation criteria include the geographic and demographic need of the project location, the scale and frequency of food access services provided, the degree to which the project builds upon existing community capacity, the long-term sustainability plan of the initiative, and measurable indicators of success. Special consideration is given to projects located in areas identified as food swamps or food deserts, particularly in Wards 3 and 4 of Norfolk. Interested applicants may find more information and apply at https://gn.ecivis.com/GO/gn_redir/T/klaffq42sd99. For questions, the primary contact is Fahria Hossain, who can be reached via email at Fahria.Hossain@norfolk.gov or by phone at (757) 376-8077. All application materials must be submitted through the designated portal by 11:59 p.m. on August 26, 2025.