Courtesy of City of Tacoma via Facebook
Making a Difference Foundation, a Tacoma-based nonprofit, has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Conagra Foods Foundation to support its Feeding Our Future Youth Agricultural Program.
The Conagra Foods Foundation’s mission is to address food insecurity in their employees’ communities through employee volunteerism, product donations, and financial contributions, the release said. MADF President and CEO Ahndrea Blue, who has worked for more than two decades to provide food, housing, and education to underserved communities both regionally and internationally, noted that Conagra Foods Foundation’s mission aligns with her own organization’s.
“We are grateful for this $10,000 gift that will allow us to expand our services to youth and help 15 at-risk BIPOC youth learn to grow their own food and how to start a small agriculture business for themselves. As food costs continue to rise, teaching these skills in self-reliance is even more important, more now than ever,” Blue said in the release of the grant.
MADF will provide young people aged 16-21 self-improvement opportunities through education and mentorship with farmers from MADF’s BIPOC Farmers HUB focused on self-reliance and food sovereignty.
The Feeding Our Future Youth Agricultural Program participants will engage in nutrition-education classes with an emphasis on healthy food choices when faced with limited options, the release said. It added that the program will also highlight different farming methods and help participants build entrepreneurial skills through the marketing and sales of their own food products.
The program hopes to give youths a sense of purpose and self-worth in order to improve their futures, the release said.