R.I. gets $975,000 for local food and shelter aid

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island will receive more than $975,000 under the U.S. Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) Program to assist local food banks, shelters, homelessness-prevention and heating-assistance programs.
The EFS program – established in 1983 under the U.S. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act – is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It provides money to supplement food, shelter, rent, mortgage and utility assistance programs for people with non-disaster-related emergencies.
“There are a lot of people struggling right now, and I’m pleased to have supported this federal money so we can help more families get aid, food and shelter,” U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a longtime supporter of McKinney-Vento Act programs, said Friday in announcing the local aid.
In each community receiving EFS funding, a local board advertises the availability of funding; establishes priorities; selects local nonprofit and government organizations that will get the money; and ensures that all groups comply with program guidelines. The national board includes representatives from the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the United Way of America, among others.
Rhode Island’s share will be divided between the greater Providence area, which will receive $604,261, and the Rhode Island State Set-Aside Committee, which will receive $371,585 to assist programs across the state.
Additional information about the Emergency Food and Shelter Program is available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.fema.gov.