MAZON in the News

This article was originally posted by eJewish Philanthropy on July 25. 2024.

MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is awarding early $3.5 million in new grants to 52 local anti-hunger partner organizations across the United States and Israel, the U.S.-based nonprofit announced on Wednesday.

“Food insecurity is growing in both the U.S. and Israel while political leaders engage in increasingly partisan battles rather than enacting policies to address it,” said Mia Hubbard, MAZON’s executive vice president. “That’s why it is so critical that programs like MAZON’s Emerging Advocacy Fund invest in our partner’s vital anti-hunger work in some of the most food insecure places in the U.S. Achieving food justice requires time and persistence, and MAZON is proud to commit to long-term partnerships with advocates on the ground through its multi-year grantmaking model to support systemic changes in our food system.”

“We are extremely proud of our partners in the U.S. and Israel who work every day to end hunger and address inequity with wisdom, creativity and resilience,” she said.

“The municipality of Jerusalem does not currently have a food policy or recognize food as a field requiring one,” said Daniella Seltzer and Maytal Lochoff, co-founder and urban food policy coordinator, respectively, of the Jerusalem Food Rescuers. “MAZON’s support allows us to create a food council that will place food systems and food security on the agenda. This support is crucial in helping us achieve these milestones.”

As one of the largest investors in anti-hunger advocacy, MAZON’s partnership grants are structured to increase or sustain staff capacity at local anti-hunger organizations to allow them to focus on advocacy and policy solutions.

“MAZON’s continued funding for food security and anti-hunger work has given us the resources and confidence to continue the successful advocacy they jumpstarted several years ago.” said Adrienne Olejnik, vice president of Kansas Action for Children. “Because of MAZON’s investment in Kansas, summer EBT was saved, advocates collaborated effectively against SNAP eligibility restrictions and school-based nutrition policy options have momentum for legislative improvement.”

“Achieving food justice requires time and persistence, and MAZON is proud to commit to long-term partnerships with advocates on the ground through its multi-year grantmaking model to support systemic changes in our food system,” said Hubbard.

The announced figure includes renewed funding for several of MAZON’s longtime partners working to improve food security and food sovereignty among Indigenous communities across the U.S.

According to the National Library of Medicine, studies have shown that approximately 25% of Native Americans face food insecurity — almost double the reported national rate for 2022, the most recent year for which data is available — and the percentage is even higher in rural communities. MAZON has made it a priority to support policies that empower tribes that want to address food insecurity on their own terms.

Nick Hernandez, CEO and founder of Makoce Agriculture Development, said partnership with MAZON “will allow us the opportunity to discuss the challenges in creating a local food system, the opportunities available to us, and the solutions we can create together to make change happen for our Lakota people in South Dakota.”

MAZON’s current Emergency Advocacy Fund grantee partners are:

• Alabama Arise (Montgomery, Ala.)
• Alaska Federation of Natives (Anchorage, Alaska)
• Alaska Food Policy Council (Homer, Alaska)
• Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (Anchorage, Alaska)
• Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (Little Rock, Ark.)
• Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance (Little Rock, Ark.)
• Center for Rural Affairs (Lyons, Neb.)
• Centro para la Nueva Economía (San Juan, PR)
• Children’s Action Alliance (Phoenix, Ariz.)
• Feeding Northeast Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.)
• Florida Impact (Tallahassee, Fla.)
• Florida Policy Institute (Orlando, Fla.)
• Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (Atlanta, Ga.)
• Hawai’i Appleseed (Honolulu Hawai’i)
• Hawai’i Children’s Action Network (Honolulu, Hawai’i)
• Hawai’i Foodbank Collaborative (Honolulu, Hawai’i)
• Hawai’i Public Health Institute (Honolulu, Hawai’i)
• Hunger Free Oklahoma (Tulsa, Okla.)
• Indiana Justice Project (Indianapolis, Ind.)
• Indy Hunger Network (Indianapolis, Ind.)
• Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud (San Juan, PR)
• Kansas Action for Children (Topeka, Kan.)
• Kansas Appleseed (Lawrence, Kan.)
• Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (Berea, Ky.)
• Latino Community Fund of Georgia (Atlanta, Ga.)
• Nebraska Appleseed (Lincoln, Neb.)
• North Carolina Budget & Tax Center (Durham, N.C.)
• Oklahoma Policy Institute (Tulsa, Okla.)
• OpenSky Policy Institute (Lincoln, Neb.)
• Poverty Solutions Group (Winter Garden, Fla.)
• Voices for Georgia’s Children (Atlanta, Ga.)
• William Morris Institute for Justice (Phoenix, Ariz.)
• Youth Development Institute (Phoenix, Ariz.)

MAZON’s current “Indian Country grantee partners” are:

• Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (Fayetteville, Ark.)
• Makoce Agriculture Development (Porcupine, S.D.)
• Native Food and Nutrition Resource Alliance (Los Alamos, N.M.)

MAZON’s current grantee partners in Israel are:

• 121 Engine for Social Change (Tel Aviv)
• Adva Center (Tel Aviv)
• ASSAF – Aid Organization for Refugees (Tel Aviv)
• Itach Ma’aki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice (Tel Aviv)
• Jerusalem Food Rescuers (Jerusalem)
• Kerem (Jerusalem)
• Latet (Tel Aviv)
• Leket Israel (Ra’anana)
• Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality (Omer)
• Nevet (Ra’anana)
• Pitchon Lev (Rishon Lezion)
• Rabbis for Human Rights (Jerusalem)
• Sidreh (Omer)
• Sikkuy-Aufoq (Jerusalem)
• Solidarity Film Festival (Tel Aviv)
• The Israel Forum for Sustainable Nutrition (Tel Aviv)