Partnership Fund grantee partner @foodconnectgroup was featured in @chronicleofphilanthropy for expanding its tech-driven food rescue operations to the Twin Cities and the Bay Area in partnership with the GreenLight Fund. The organization is addressing food insecurity by managing last-mile logistics and working with local hunger-relief organizations to collect surplus food from grocery stores, farms, food banks, and restaurants and deliver it where it’s needed. The article details the value of partnership, including how GreenLight and a volunteer committee of local experts from government, philanthropy, business, education, and nonprofits chose Food Connect as a priority charity for 2024, providing a $600,000 multiyear grant and helping introduce Food Connect to local leaders and donors. As a result of their strong results in the community, Food Connect has now spread to four more cities since its founding in 2014.

Regina Harmon, Claneil Foundation board member and Executive Director of past grantee partner @foodrecovery, had an op-ed titled The Real Cost Of Food Waste In Baltimore published in @baltimoresun. The article details local and national hunger rates and highlights the environmental and economic costs of food waste. Regina also showcases community-led solutions, including a partnership between local schools and @hungryharvest that recovered 10,000 pounds of surplus food to feed kids and families experiencing hunger. FRN has expanded these pilots to 10 elementary schools in Baltimore and is leading the movement to reduce food waste and end hunger.

ELF grantee partner @farmstandorg is celebrating a recent federal court order that restores $127 million in federal grants for 24 organizations and local governments. FarmSTAND, @earthjustice, Farmers Justice Center, and @southernenvironment represented the grantees under the USDA’s Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (LCM) Program, which distributes grants to provide down payment assistance, low-interest loans, technical guidance, beginning farmer training, equipment, and infrastructure. For over a year, the Trump Administration froze funding, withheld required approvals for project activities, failed to communicate with grantees, and terminated 49 of 50 projects designed to help young, beginning, and underserved producers struggling to survive. Thanks to FarmSTAND’s efforts, the grants can once again be used to support the next generation of farmers and build a fair and sustainable food system.

The Claneil Foundation hosted an Emerging Leaders Fund (ELF) reunion from June 22 - 24. ELF alumni gathered in community and engaged in meaningful conversations about addressing organizational challenges, facilitating personal transitions, and navigating the complicated political environment. One of the participants said that she appreciated, "The genuine connections, intentional rest/down time, and the opportunity to be in community with incredible ELF leaders.” Thank you for an incredible reunion!

Claneil Foundation Executive Director Mailee Walker joined ELF grantee partners @oscarkirschwang of @collegetogether, Donnell Butler of @joinprelude, Kim Eckel of Footbridge for Families, and Briane Cornish of finEQUITY for an informal dinner gathering in Lancaster, PA. Thank you to Donnell for being a fabulous hometown host.