CSX, Conservation Fund issue grants to expand access to food

CSX and The Conservation Fund yesterday announced nine charities in seven states will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to improve their capacity to store and safely deliver food in their communities.

Over the past six years, the Grant Program for Transporting Healthy Food, sponsored by CSX, has provided funding to 74 local food producers and distributors. The funding has supported their operations to purchase and expand vital infrastructure — such as mobile markets, cold storage units and packaging material — to better store, pack, transport and ultimately improve community access to fresh produce, dairy, meat or seafood.

Overall, the grant program is projected to enable local food distribution organizations to collectively serve an additional 377,987 families with nearly 50 million pounds of food and increase the number of meals provided by more than 40 million.

The grants will go to organizations in Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Virginia.

"CSX is proud to partner with The Conservation Fund on this important initiative to promote the distribution of fresh, healthy food to those in underserved communities," said John Kitchens, CSX's director of community investment, in a press release.

The fund's grant program has provided nourishment to thousands of families and strengthened local food producers in some of the nation's most vulnerable communities, he said.

This year's funding will enable the nine recipient organizations to collectively serve an additional 92,000 families with nearly 6 million meals.