Hunger Free Campus Grants Application is Now Open

5/1/2024

 

St. Paul, Minn.— For many college students, food insecurity is a daily concern. In an effort to address this issue, the Hunger Free Campus grant program was established to help fight hunger on Minnesota college campuses. All Minnesota public postsecondary institutions, tribal colleges, and private non-profit degree granting institutions are eligible to apply for grant funding. The 2024 grant application is now live, and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) invites all eligible colleges and universities to apply by May 23, 2024.

Established in 2021 as a part of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education Omnibus Bill, the total appropriation for the program in this grant round is $2,500,000.

There are three different grants available to applicants in this grant round:

• Sustaining Designation Grant (Sustaining Grant): These grants support colleges and universities who have already received a Hunger Free Campus designation and are requesting funds to sustain and continue their work. The maximum grant award for an institution pursuing the Sustaining Designation Grant is $15,000.
• Pathways to Designation Grant (Pathways Grant): These grants support colleges and universities who have not received a Hunger Free Campus designation and will be seeking designation within the next year. The maximum grant award for an institution pursuing the Pathways to Designation Grant is $25,000. 
• Equipment Grant: These grants support colleges and universities in purchasing the equipment necessary to operate an on-campus food pantry. Institutions may apply for this grant alone or in addition to a Sustaining or Pathways grant. The maximum award amount for an institution requesting an equipment grant is $25,000. Up to $500,000 in one-time funding is available for equipment grants.

Please Note: There is a 50 percent match requirement, in-kind or monetary, to receive funding for Sustaining and Pathways grants.

The timeline for the grant is as follows:

• April 22, 2024 - Request for Proposals available to applicants
• May 16, 2024 - Technical Questions Deadline
• May 23, 2024 - Deadline for receipt of full proposals at 11:59 p.m.
• June 6, 2024 - Committee begins review of applications
• June 20, 2024 - Committee recommendations submitted to OHE for review
• July 8, 2024 - Applicants notified of award decisions

Hunger Free Campus Grants are administered in partnership with the Student Advisory Council. Members of the Student Advisory Council include students from LeadMN (Minnesota’s public 2-year institutions), Students United (Minnesota’s public 4-year institutions), The University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Private College Council student association, and tribal colleges.

For more information and forms needed to apply, see the Hunger Free Campus Request for Proposals.

For more information on this program, visit the Hunger Free Campus webpage.

If you are a student seeking resources to address food, housing, or other basic needs insecurities, see our Student Homelessness in Higher Education webpage.