November 2, 2026
In partnership with the Upper Willamette Soil & Water Conservation District (UWSWCD), Food for Lane County (FFLC) is pleased to offer grants to Partner Agencies to support a higher volume, greater diversity and expansion of culturally preferred whole foods from primarily Lane County producers and secondarily from Oregon-based producers.
This funding is a unique opportunity for FFLC and our partners to invest in food security for Lane County. Our goal is to have FFLC’s Partner Agencies and other community partners use the funds for things that they believe would be most useful or helpful to them. This means that funds can be used to bolster infrastructure, purchase supplies or foods that are typically unattainable (such as berries or seafood) because of the costs, support staffing costs to implement a project, or support volunteer team members as a recognition for their commitment.
Save the Date for a virtual information session
On the date listed below, click on the link to join the meeting and use the Meeting ID and Passcode.
November 6, 2026 / 11:00am
Join using this link
Meeting ID: 214 779 073 791 390
Passcode: 7WP948Sx
Grant Timeline
Key dates for the 2027 cycle are:
Nov 2, 2026 (8AM)- Application Opens
Nov 6, 2026 — FFLC virtual information session for interested applicants
Dec 18, 2026 (5PM) - Application Closes
Jan 5 - Feb 13, 2027 - Review Period
Feb 18, 2027 - Awards Announced
Goals of Funding Opportunity
The goals of this funding opportunity are to:
Provide for more volume, diversity and preferred foods as identified by clients from primarily local producers and secondarily Oregon-based, and
Improve infrastructure requirements to store, process, aggregate and distribute whole foods, and provide support for staff and/or volunteers to implement the changes.
Whole foods are defined as:
Fruits
Vegetables
Herbs (fresh or dried)
Grains (fresh or dried, i.e. locally produced tortillas)
Protein (seafood, meat, poultry, legumes, nuts and seeds)
Dairy (Lane County produced only) including eggs, cheese, butter and milk.
Criteria & Eligibility
This funding is reserved for Partner Agencies of Food for Lane County or other agencies invited by Food for Lane County to apply, whose proposed projects meet at least one of the priorities listed below in the Priorities section. Projects that address more than one of the listed areas of need are most desirable. Additional criteria include:
Partner Agencies must be in good standing with FFLC*
Must serve a minimum of 30 (unduplicated) individuals monthly
Must be direct-service food distribution programs
A 10% match (either cash or in-kind including volunteer time) is required (more information about matching funds here)
Whole foods have to be purchased primarily from Lane County producers and secondarily from Oregon producers. If your agency is a current food distribution partner of FFLC, these purchases must be made in collaboration with FFLC’s food resourcing efforts to avoid oversaturation in the FFLC food distribution network with too many of the same products at one time.**
75% or more of those served must be Lane County residents
* No outstanding corrective action plans, no outstanding invoices or overdue reports, and received a “Good” or “Excellent” on their last monitoring visit. Reach out to your Coordinator if you have questions.
** FFLC staff will work with you to support non-duplication of purchasing by sharing a procurement calendar and requesting information about your planned purchases
Priorities
Our priorities for this grant include the following:
Purchase whole foods that meet the needs identified by clients of the agency or of FFLC
Purchase whole foods that are known to be preferred but not readily available
Improve infrastructure to purchase, store, aggregate and/or distribute more whole foods, and have the staffing and volunteers to support this objective
Support Lane County farmers and/or ranchers (FFLC can assist in identifying local farms).
Application Documents
Note, in order to view a PDF document, it is best to download Adobe Reader (free) by clicking here.
Grant application questions: We recommend that you download the Questions ahead of time before filling out the form (PDF)
Application form link: 2026-27 FFLC Food Distribution Center Grant Application (Microsoft online form)
Helpful Documents
List of Farmers to purchase local products from: Farm List (PDF) Updated Fall 2026
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): 2027 Partner Agency Grant FAQs (PDF). Please check back here for an up-to-date list to help you with your application. Most recent update on 11/2/2026.
Questions
Please contact Samanth Simonich (our contracted support team) at sam@ensoterra.com
