More Than $700,000 in Grants Awarded to D.C. Area Food Businesses and Nonprofits for Cold Storage Needs

May 1, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) – More than $700,000 in grants have been awarded to 22 food businesses and nonprofits to help them grow while expanding access to healthy food for communities in the Washington metro area.

The “Keeping It Cool” grants, funded by The Morningstar Foundation, provide these businesses and nonprofits with something essential that many might otherwise take for granted — cold storage infrastructure. The grants will go toward refrigerators, freezers, coolers, delivery vehicles, display cases and other upgrades. 

This year’s small business recipients include local restaurants, grocery markets, meal kit manufacturers, meal delivery services, farms and farmers’ market vendors. Nonprofit grantees include kitchen incubators, food pantries, food banks, and other services dedicated to making sure that people have access to healthy, fulfilling meals.

This is the second year that The Morningstar Foundation has funded the “Keeping It Cool” grants. Additional support was provided by the Bainum Family Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation.

“We are thrilled to support Keeping It Cool this year because we recognize the ongoing, significant challenges related to food access through the region. Additional cold storage is critical to getting healthy food to populations that need it most,” said Susie and Michael Gelman, Directors of The Morningstar Foundation. “We understand that different organizations and entrepreneurs have distinct needs, and we also have learned more about differences throughout the region. Keeping it Cool not only provides resources to purchase the cold storage while also providing technical assistance tailored to support specific needs for each entity. We are proud that Keeping it Cool makes a difference to these innovative organizations and food businesses while also strengthening economic development in our region.”

Capital Impact Partners — a nonprofit headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that is part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations — serves as the grants manager. 

“Adding cold storage can help businesses and nonprofits overcome a huge barrier to growth so that they can serve more people in their communities,” said Alison Powers, Director of Economic Opportunities at Capital Impact Partners. “These grants are not just about keeping food cool. They will allow these businesses and nonprofits to create quality jobs, increase energy efficiency, and improve food safety and food access.”

The grantees are located in D.C. and the surrounding area in Maryland and Virginia: Arlington, Fairfax, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties.

The 10 businesses receiving grants are:

• Chinese Street Market (doing business as Dàn Dàn Boy); Washington, D.C., $16,000 
• FishScale; Washington, D.C., $50,000
• The Fresh Food Factory Market; Washington, D.C., $24,000
• Green Fish LLC (dba as Fight Juice); Washington, D.C., $50,000
• Kalu’s Seasoning Blends and Catering (dba Trini Vybez); Washington, D.C., $11,946
• My Kabul Restaurant and Cafe; Laurel, Maryland, $50,000
• One Acre Farm LLC; Dickerson, Maryland, $33,900
• Red Savina (dba Roots ‘n Shoots); Arlington, Virginia, $19,850
• Run Veggie LLC; Washington, D.C, $37,000
• Strong Fit Meals LLC (dba Healthy Fresh Meals); Hyattsville, Maryland, $50,000

“Healthy Fresh Meals has been expanding its partnerships with the Senior Nutrition Program in the state of Maryland and beyond to provide healthy and nutritious meals to seniors aging in place,” said owner Shana Greenbaum. “We are running into cold storage issues to keep up with our growing programs, so this money will help us build out a new walk-in cooler to store all the daily meals that go out for all of our programs.  We will be able to increase demand thanks to this new addition and take on more partners, such as Meals on Wheels, to increase access.”

The 12 nonprofits receiving grants are:

• Arlington Bridge Builders; Arlington, Virginia, $22,000
• Bridges to Independence; Arlington, Virginia, $10,853
• Capital Area Food Bank; Washington, D.C. and Fairfax County, Virginia, $30,000
• Common Good City Farm; Washington, D.C., $42,847
• Community FarmShare; Montgomery County, Maryland, $50,000
• Consortium for Sustainable Workforce (dba The Consortium); Washington, D.C., $10,000
• Destiny Point; Washington, D.C., $12,960
• Festival Center; Washington, D.C., $27,000
• The Hope Foundation Reentry Network (dba Community Cafe); Washington, D.C., $43,000
• Shepherd’s Table; Montgomery County, Maryland, $43,975
• Washington DC Meals on Wheels Inc. (dba Meals on Wheels of Takoma Park/Silver Spring); Montgomery County, Maryland, $15,000
• Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington; Montgomery County, Maryland, $50,000

“The freezers help Bridges to Independence to accept more donations of perishable items, reducing food waste and providing a wider variety of healthy options for the children and families staying at our emergency shelter for families, Sullivan House,” said Fraser Murdoch, CEO of Bridges to Independence. “The added freezer capacity improves nutrition for the families and creates a more stable and comforting environment during what can be a challenging time. The grant enhances the emergency shelter’s ability to provide food and promotes the well-being and health of the families we serve.”