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Bills Foundation has donated $2 million since 2023 to address food insecurity | Huddle for Hunger 

DeWayne Carter (90), Branson Deen (53), Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (62), Frank Gore Jr. (20), Cole Bishop (24), Javon Solomon (56), Joe Andreessen (44), Tylan Grable (68), Edefuan Ulofoshio (48), Daequan Hardy (25), Mike Edwards (65), Keon Coleman (0), Ray Davis (22), Te'Cory Couch (33), Dee Delaney (29) , Brandon Codrington (29). Buffalo Bills 2024 Fan Food Drive and Huddle for Hunger High School Challenge , September 17, 2024 at Highmark Stadium.
DeWayne Carter (90), Branson Deen (53), Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (62), Frank Gore Jr. (20), Cole Bishop (24), Javon Solomon (56), Joe Andreessen (44), Tylan Grable (68), Edefuan Ulofoshio (48), Daequan Hardy (25), Mike Edwards (65), Keon Coleman (0), Ray Davis (22), Te'Cory Couch (33), Dee Delaney (29) , Brandon Codrington (29). Buffalo Bills 2024 Fan Food Drive and Huddle for Hunger High School Challenge , September 17, 2024 at Highmark Stadium.

Each season, the Buffalo Bills Foundation teams up with Wegmans, FeedMore WNY, and 19 additional hunger fighting charities to present Huddle for Hunger!

This past Tuesday, over 31,000 pounds of food was donated at the Huddle for Hunger community food drive at Highmark Stadium. The donations collected benefit FeedMore WNY and its 400 hunger-relief agencies and programs in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie and Niagara counties. The funds raised through the Wegmans Tailgate Party Box and the Bills 50/50 will benefit this year's hunger fighting charities.

Since 2023, the Buffalo Bills Foundation has committed over $2 million in grants in support of its mission of addressing child hunger, increasing access to nutritious food for families, and supporting healthy eating in the Western New York region. This week, the Bills Foundation is proud to announce its most recent grants provided to the following organizations:

  • Connecting Communities in Action, Inc. ($165,000 grant): The Bills Foundation will support the implementation of the Healthy Cattaraugus Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plan developed by the CDC. Connecting Communities in Action will utilize mobile food pantries, food box drop-offs, and pop-up pantries to reduce food insecurity and increase access to care in Cattaraugus-Little Valley and Salamanca, NY.
  • Harvest House ($100,000 grant): Funding will support Harvest House's Food as Medicine Program which provides East Buffalo residents with a wraparound medical care network by offering free fresh produce, nutrition education, and social support through the First Fruits Pantry. Volunteer physicians, nutritionists and medical students will develop nutrition prescription for a "Food Farmacy" that allows the community to learn how to use food to treat and prevent chronic illnesses.
  • Home Beneath Our Feet ($12,750 grant): HBOF has received funding in support of its Farm Initiative in East Aurora. The farm will serve as an educational space and career development opportunity for inner-city students enrolled in the organization's summer growth and after school programs. Fresh produce cultivated at the farm will be available to the community through a Mobile Farmer's Market Truck.
  • Our City Buffalo ($15,000 grant): Our City Buffalo will utilize funding towards the Introduction to Small Food Businesses Workforce and Entrepreneurial program focused on providing financial autonomy, food security, and entrepreneurial opportunities for immigrants, refugees and underserved populations in Buffalo. The four-month program will support participants' entry into food related business and industries through a series of three-hour courses taught by local instructors and business advisors.
  • Providence Farm Collective (3 year, $80,000 per year grant): The Bills Foundation will continue to support Providence Farm Collective's mission of cultivating farmer-led and community-rooted agriculture and food systems to actualize the rights of under-resourced peoples.
  • United Way ($295,634 grant): Through the 2-1-1 Food Assistance Program, United Way will connect Erie County households facing food insecurity with cash assistance in the form of grocery gift cards and home-delivered food boxes to food insecure households in rural areas in Niagara, Orleans, and Genesee Counties.
  • ICAP & iCap Core ($39,000 grant): The Buffalo Bills Foundation partners with the Western New York Foundation to fund the Impact Capacity Assessment Program. The iCAP is an 8 to 10-month, team-based approach to strengthening internal organizational capacity, and the iCAP Core is a tailored program designed for emerging and smaller nonprofits, providing them with a comprehensive understanding of capacity building and its influence on both internal and external facets of their organization.
Dion Dawkins (73). Buffalo Bills 2024 Fan Food Drive and Huddle for Hunger High School Challenge , September 17, 2024 at Highmark Stadium.

New developments at Providence Farm Collective

Providence Farm Collective is a WNY-based non-profit organization launched in 2017 that addresses inequities in farmland and fresh-food access. The organization grew from the Somali Bantu Community Farm and is located at 5701 Burton Rd in Orchard Park, NY.

Their mission is to cultivate farmer-led and community-rooted agriculture and food systems to actualize the rights of under-resourced peoples, according to the organization's website. Currently, the farm has around 230 farmers who and many of them work full-time jobs in addition to spending several hours a week at Providence Farm Collective.

The skills gained by the farmers at PFC include building fresh food and economic security within their communities and growing culturally relevant crops key to food traditions.

Buffalo Bills Providence Farms partnership, September 11, 2024.

The Bills Foundation has helped to provide funding in two key areas for Providence Farm Collective. The first is a new barn that is currently under construction which will house the organization's office spaces, washing pack stations, and areas for workshops, improving the working conditions for farmers. The existing barn lacks heating and air conditioning, making it uncomfortable in extreme weather.

Additionally, there is a full commercial kitchen and daily food truck to support the farmer and youth lunch program, ensuring farmers receive a healthy and freshly cooked meal before returning to their jobs.

The organization also has a produce aggregation program funded by Bills Foundation, which supplies fresh produce to food pantries, addressing the lack of fresh food in traditional food pantries.

Buffalo Bills Providence Farms partnership, September 11, 2024.

The net charitable proceeds from the Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars 50/50 Raffle on September 23 will benefit the 20 local hunger-fighting charities listed below:

Big Big Table Community Cafe, Buffalo City Mission, Buffalo Go Green, Connecting Communities in Action, Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, Community Missions of Niagara Frontier, Inc., Feed Buffalo, FeedMore WNY, Field & Fork Network, Food Shuttle of WNY, Friends of Night People, Grassroots Gardens WNY, Heart, Love and Soul, Hearts for the Homeless, St. Luke's Mission of Mercy., Massachusetts Avenue Project, Providence Farm Collective, St. Bonaventure University - The Warming House, The Salvation Army (Buffalo Area Services), West Side Community Services.

Scroll to see photos from the Buffalo Bills Huddle for Hunger High School Challenge and Fan Food Drive.

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