The Community Foundation of West Tennessee announced the second and expanded round of its Hunger Relief Grants, allocating an additional $25,000 to food assistance partners serving 20 rural counties across West Tennessee.

This second round of funding brings the total emergency support provided by the Community Foundation to $45,000 since launching its appeal to address the critical gap in SNAP benefits and the resulting rise in local food insecurity.

The initial $20,000 grants, announced earlier this month, went to RIFA (Madison County) and Second Harvest Food Bank (Benton County). This new funding is being distributed to smaller, community-focused nonprofits and pantries in rural areas, ensuring the entire region has the resources to meet the ongoing challenge.

“Our team has heard firsthand from partners in our rural counties about the significant surge in demand following the SNAP delay,” said Beth Koffman, Chief Operating Officer for the Community Foundation. “These emergency grants are meant to help them manage this increase, ensuring they have the resources needed to keep shelves stocked and continue to provide for struggling families well into the busy holiday season.”

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 When looking at the second wave of grants, the Community Foundation felt that it was vital to distribute funding into each of the counties they serve across West Tennessee. These grants will reach 21 organizations.

• Reelfoot Rural Ministries (Lake and Obion Counties)
• We Care Ministries (Weakley County)
• Paris First United Methodist Church (Henry County)
• Matthew 25:40 (Dyer County)
• Milan Mustard Seed (Gibson County)
• Helping Hands of Humboldt (Gibson County)
• Why Not Ministries (Gibson County)
• First Baptist Church - Food Pantry (Gibson County)
• Overflow Church (Carroll County)
• Huntingdon First United Methodist Church (Carroll County)
• Crockett Cares Food Pantry (Crockett County)
• Ripley First United Methodist Church (Lauderdale County)
• First United Methodist Church (Tipton County)
• Stanton Feeding Haywood (Haywood County)
• Henderson Community Soup Kitchen (Chester County)
• First United Methodist Church (Henderson County)
• St Paul Missionary Baptist Church (Decatur County)
• Fayette Cares (Fayette County)
• Loaves and Fishes (Hardeman County)
• Jesus Cares McNairy (McNairy County)
• Our Daily Bread (Hardin County)

Thanks to the generosity of the Humboldt, Milan, and North Gibson County Chapters and their advisory boards, the Community Foundation was able to increase the donation amounts in Gibson County to four organizations, totaling $9,000 in grants.

For more information about the Community Foundation or its hunger relief support, visit www.cfwtn.org/hunger or contact Haley Fortune at haley@cfwtn.org.