Montgomery County office lays out strategy to reduce childhood hunger, highlights grant awards and partnerships

Heather Bruskin, director of the Montgomery County Office of Food Systems Resilience, told the county Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday that the office is moving from planning to implementing a suite of programs intended to reduce childhood hunger and strengthen the local food system.

Bruskin said the office has used the past year to build interagency partnerships, complete a county food-data inventory and policy landscape, and shift 20 contracts into a grant-based allocation process. "We strive to invest in initiatives that deeply connect with broader priorities in our community," she said. "We have been actively pursuing all of these mandates, and that's due in large part to our incredible team."

Nut graf: The briefing summarized work across school-based grants, a food-as-medicine pilot, a retail-access pilot built on Instacart's Fresh Funds platform (MC Groceries), cold-storage investments and SNAP outreach grants. OFSR officials described evaluation systems and reporting requirements meant to target limited county dollars to the places and programs with measurable impact before FY26 budget decisions are finalized.

School-based grants and food-as-medicine Catherine (OFSR staff), who described the school-based grant program, said OFSR has awarded more than $1,700,000 to 12 unique organizations supporting more than 60 Montgomery County Public Schools sites in the 2023–24 school year and through 2025. In a FY24 snapshot, the program received responses from 100+ schools, 53 schools indicated on-site food-assistance needs, and the office awarded about $480,000 to eight organizations that connected with 40 school sites. "Close to 14,000 students were served over the course of the FY24 program," Catherine said.

Catherine also summarized a food-as-medicine grant launched in April that distributed nearly $450,000 to two hospital systems, one clinic and two food-assistance providers to deliver culturally relevant, nutrient-dense foods through pediatric health sites. Midpoint reporting from grantees shows screening and referral activity (for example, about 82 children screened from just over 300 households in initial reports).

Retail access and MC Groceries Bruskin described MC Groceries, a retail-access pilot built on Instacart's Fresh Funds platform to reach families who do not qualify for SNAP but face food insecurity. Eligibility was described as households at or below 400% of the federal poverty level with at least one child and no active SNAP case. The benefit allows up to $100 per child per month, capped at $400 per month per household. In its first two months the program recorded roughly $150,000 in purchases across about 1,400 transactions and includes 20 retail banners representing more than 80 Montgomery County stores. "Those are often the most expensive items, and our families know that's what they want to feed their children," Bruskin said of fresh fruits and vegetables purchased through the pilot.

Cold storage, market supports and farm partnerships Bruskin outlined infrastructure investments: OFSR awarded cold-storage grants totaling $352,000 after leveraging additional funds from the Morningstar Foundation; the Food Council received a $39,000 grant to install commercial cold storage at the Ag History Farm Park (capacity described as up to 300,000 pounds of produce per year). She also highlighted the county's matching investments in the Maryland Market Money program and reported more than $2 million in purchases leveraged and over 6,000 market transactions to date.

Food recovery and farm-to-food-bank work Bruskin noted OFSR's contract oversight of Manna Food Center's Community Food Rescue operations and an expanded farm-to-food-bank effort: county-grown produce totaled more than 78,000 pounds connected to food assistance providers during a recent summer, with more than 26 county farms and nearly 40 food-assistance partners involved. The office also created a collaborative funding mechanism that awarded $133,431 to 10 farm partners to build production capacity tied to donations.

Grant transitions and the Community Food Assistance Grant program Bruskin said the pandemic-era Staples partner program is transitioning to a Community Food Assistance Grant program with standardized reporting and eligibility requirements (applicants must have provided monthly food assistance in Montgomery County for at least two years). She said the county initially recommended $7 million for the program; $3.5 million was included in the adopted budget. "The application's closed on Monday, and we ultimately had 55 applicants requesting just under $7,500,000," she said, noting that awards will prioritize maintaining existing service levels rather than expansion.

Data, evaluation and geographic targeting Juan Cruz, OFSR performance management data analyst, outlined the office's evaluation framework—assess data resources, set service metrics, measure community outcomes and reexamine equity outcomes—and described grantee reporting platforms and automated reports intended to provide real-time oversight. He said OFSR is using geographic mapping (including a cold-storage asset map) to identify underfunded areas and target investments.

Council questions and next steps Committee members pressed OFSR staff on reconciling county-specific data with regional and national measures (e.g., a Capital Area Food Bank estimate cited during the briefing), how program-level metrics are being set and monitored, and transportation barriers for families accessing food. Bruskin said the office has requested Montgomery County–specific Food Bank data; is working with partners (including Georgetown) to refine local measurement approaches; and requires mid-point and final reporting from grantees so the county can identify gaps and course-correct.

Bruskin also pointed to a likely reintroduction of a universal meals bill in the state legislature and characterized universal meals as an expensive policy that could nonetheless reduce household food costs if state funding covered program costs. She said OFSR will seek federal, state and private funds to stretch limited county resources.

The chair thanked staff and community providers and the meeting was adjourned. OFSR officials said they will use the data and feedback to refine FY26 budget recommendations and proceed with FY26 grant competitions and the planned reissuance of food recovery funding.

Quotes used in this report are attributed to committee members and OFSR staff as identified in the meeting transcript.