Food Bank Among Those Awarded Grants

Public works, counseling services and the county’s Food Distribution Center were the big winners in the annual Community Development Block Grant stakes this week.

City Council members unanimously approved recommendations made by a citizens committee to divide about $1.7 million in federal funds among municipal public works projects and nonprofit agencies in the city.

“It’s not an easy process,” said Mary Ellen Laster, who oversees the grant program for the city. “We have very limited funding for public service projects, so it is very competitive.”

The biggest nonprofit winner was the Food Distribution Center of Orange County, which was awarded $13,500 to buy a motorized conveyor belt and scales.

Other winners were the Community Service Programs Inc., which will use its $7,480 to fund a Drug Court Clinic to serve the county.

The Orange YMCA received $4,000 for its Urban Peace Corps volunteer program and the Olive Crest Homes and Services for Abused Children was awarded $6,000 to refurbish its group homes.

The Assessment and Treatment Services Center, the Assistance League of Orange, the Orange County Council on Aging, STOP-GAP and the group called Helping Our Mentally Ill Experience Success all received awards in various amounts.

City officials received more than $300,000 in funding requests from 21 nonprofit agencies, Laster said. Priority was given to groups that serve low-income residents living in the city.

Nine of those agencies were chosen to receive a total of $54,000. More than $1.6 million went to fund municipal street and sewer projects.

Only 15% of the total funds could be awarded to nonprofit agencies according to federal rules, and officials strive to vary who gets money each year so no agency becomes dependent on this funding for existence, Laster said.