Community Food Grants
Colorado’s Community Food Grants support food assistance providers with funding to purchase and distribute local, fresh, and culturally or spiritually relevant foods in our communities. Provecho Collective administers the program in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services.
Both food pantries and food banks are key partners in addressing hunger across Colorado. With these funds, food pantries can get food directly to individuals and families based on local needs and priorities, while food banks can purchase food in bulk and distribute it to partner agencies in all 64 counties.
Important Information & Dates to Know
For the 2025 – 2026 grant cycle, there’s $500,000 available to food pantries through a competitive application process that opens on Monday, August 25. Review the application questions and apply online by Wednesday, September 10. Community grant reviewers will guide decision-making, and we’ll inform applicants of funding decisions in mid-October.
Have questions? Register for our informational webinar on Wednesday, August 27, from 2 – 3 p.m. MST, or view our FAQ.
Funding
Total funding available: $1,700,000
Available for food pantries: $500,000
Already awarded for food banks: $1,200,000
Request range: $5,000 – $30,000
Important Dates
Application deadline: September 10, 2025, at 5 p.m. MST
Notifications: October 15 – 20, 2025
Mandatory grantee orientation: Wednesday, October 22, at 2 – 3:30 p.m. MST
Eligibility
- Be a food pantry. "Food pantry" means an individual site that buys food or receives donations of foods that are then directly distributed to those in its community. This includes faith-based organizations.
- Previous Provecho Collective grant recipients must be in good standing to be eligible for this grant (i.e., having met all required deadlines for fund expenditure and reporting).
- To the extent practicable, food purchased using these funds should be designated to one of the following:
- A Colorado agricultural product; or
- An agricultural product that holds cultural significance for Indigenous First Nations people, or for other cultures of subcultural groups, including the ways in which those agricultural products are produced.
- Ensure funding allocation as follows: 90% must be spent on food purchases (locally in Colorado or spiritually/culturally appropriate, when possible), with only up to 10% spent on direct and indirect expenses associated with the distribution of food.
- Spend the total awarded amount by June 30, 2026. Provecho Collective intends to distribute funds to grantees by early November 2025.
- Do not use funding to purchase gift cards of any kind.
Review the application questions and apply online by Wednesday, September 10, at 5 p.m. MST.
Grant Program Goals & Background
Program Goals
The Community Food Grants program provides funding to qualifying food pantries and food banks, specifically for the procurement and distribution of healthy, culturally relevant foods, while also championing local agriculture. Grants are intended to purchase meat, dairy, and fresh produce from local farmers, ranchers, and producers. They also help expand access to foods that meet the diverse tastes and needs of community members based on their cultural identity and/or spirituality.
The Community Food Grants aim to:
Purchase and distribute foods that better meet the needs of your community;
Increase access to culturally relevant and nutritious foods;
Purchase Colorado agricultural products and/or culturally or spiritually relevant food;
Ensure that food purchasing and distribution is grounded in equity and responsive to community needs.
This Year’s Funding Cycle
The State of Colorado has allocated $2 million for the 2025 – 2026 grant cycle. After accounting for required costs like administration, translation, and interpretation, a total of $1.7 million is available to directly support emergency food providers across the state. The five regional food banks, affiliated with Feeding Colorado, have been awarded $1.2 million, with the remaining $500,000 available to food pantries through a competitive grant application process.
With these funds, food pantries can acquire and distribute food directly to individuals and families as aligned with community needs and priorities. Similarly, food banks can buy food in bulk and distribute the entirety of their grant purchases to food pantries across the state.
Background
The original Food Pantry Assistance Grants (FPAG) and Food Bank Assistance Grants (FBAG) programs were created to support organizations working directly in their Colorado communities to ensure everyone has access to healthy food options near where they live. Hunger Free Colorado led FPAG’s establishment in 2018, with support from its Colorado Food Pantry Network, the state legislature, and then-Governor Hickenlooper. In 2020, enacted legislation designated the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) as its grant administrator and expanded market opportunities for Colorado’s agricultural products.
In Spring 2024, the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee allocated up to $3 million in funding for food assistance over the next five years through House Bill 2024-1407, creating the Community Food Assistance Provider Grant Program. (Advocacy efforts were co-led by Feeding Colorado and Hunger Free Colorado.) This means that the above programs have been recombined, similar to their structure prior to 2023. It’s now officially known as the Community Food Grants program.
Provecho Collective administers the grant program, in partnership with CDHS.