MAZON Blog

The networks of MAZON grantee partners are central to the fight against hunger, working tirelessly in communities across the United States, Indian Country, and Israel. These organizations understand their communities’ unique needs, speak the local language of advocacy, and know exactly how to fill the gaps. To support these efforts, MAZON is investing over $3.9 million to 60 organizations, fueling these incredible local champions who are making real change happen every single day.

This comprehensive investment reflects our deep belief that lasting solutions to hunger must be community-driven, culturally appropriate, and rooted in local knowledge. From rural reservations to urban neighborhoods and local communities, these organizations are building movements, changing policies, and creating sustainable systems for the future.

Supporting State-Based Policy Advocacy Organizations

With communities nationwide concerned about the largest federal cuts to basic food assistance in U.S. history, local organizations are doing everything in their power to fight for those struggling with hunger. As we have done for decades, MAZON has announced multi-year grants to anti-hunger organizations across the country working to support their communities through crisis and need.

For 40 years, we’ve had the privilege of supporting organizations working to address hunger at the local level. Through our Emerging Advocacy Fund (EAF), we’re reinforcing our commitment to anti-hunger advocacy in states with the highest rates of food insecurity at a time when many are preparing for the impacts of federal cuts to basic needs assistance.

Our grantmaking supports anti-hunger advocacy that confronts food insecurity by lobbying legislators to expand access to school meals and critical safety nets. Working with state agencies, these local organizations remove barriers to programs like SNAP, WIC, and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. Together, they’re building a movement to end hunger through local organizing, public education campaigns, and coalition building.

“This is a true inflection point in the fight to end hunger, and state-based advocates are key to fighting back against the cruel and reckless attempts to shrink and weaken food assistance in this country,” said Mia Hubbard, MAZON’s Executive Vice President. “By supporting anti-hunger advocacy in key communities, we are able to expand MAZON’s reach and deepen our impact through these vital partnerships. Today’s investments reflect our confidence in these organizations’ ability to create lasting change in their communities. Our partners are on the front lines of the policy fight against hunger, and we are proud to help ensure they can maintain their critical work in this pivotal moment.”

The results speak for themselves. In Alabama, our funding helped bring Summer EBT to the state for the first time and secured funding for the program to continue into 2026. In Mississippi, our partners are advocating for straightforward policies to fight hunger while focusing on the state’s most vulnerable residents. In Israel, our grantee conducted and published a joint report with the Adva Center, mapping the depth of food insecurity and poverty among the refugee community, data that had not been updated since 2020. 

“MAZON’s funding for our anti-hunger work in Alabama has been critical to our continued advocacy efforts and has led to numerous successes,” said Laura Lester, Chief Executive Officer of Feeding Alabama. “The funds helped bring Summer EBT to Alabama for the first time, and secured funding for it to continue into 2026. Working collaboratively with other anti-hunger advocates, we were able to fight off negative state SNAP legislation and successfully advocated for expanded breakfast in the classroom. We have also continued to strengthen our partnerships with multiple state agencies that administer crucial nutrition programs.”

Supporting Native American Food Sovereignty

As Congress passed the largest cut to SNAP in the program’s history, we’re stepping up support for Native American communities who will be disproportionately impacted. About one in four Native Americans experience food insecurity, compared to one in seven Americans overall. Many remote and geographically isolated reservations require tribal members to drive long distances just to access grocery stores with fresh produce.

The federal cuts fundamentally shift the burden of addressing hunger from the federal government to tribal nations, state governments, and local communities. For Native American communities, this shift is particularly challenging because many tribal territories are in remote areas with limited economic opportunities and infrastructure. Unlike urban areas with multiple food assistance programs, many reservations rely heavily on federal programs like SNAP and FDPIR as primary sources of food security.

But the organizations in Native American communities who understand the unique challenges of food sovereignty give us hope. These organizations aren’t just addressing immediate hunger. They’re working to rebuild traditional food systems that support Indigenous self-determination, wellness, cultures, values, communities, and economies.

“Native Agriculture Financial Services is deeply grateful for the support of MAZON. My own work has intersected with MAZON for many years, and I’ve been deeply thankful for our continued shared focus on missions centering on access to food,” said Janie Hipp, CEO of Native Agriculture Financial Services. “Our organization continues to grow and evolve in our service to Indian Country and the agriculture producers who are critical to shoring up Native food systems and our shared health and food security. The challenges ahead are significant, but together we can solve complex problems and leave the world better than we found it — this is the core purpose of MAZON and it is a mission we are proud to work alongside MAZON to accomplish.”

Fighting Hunger in Israel

In the nearly two years since October 7, Israel continues to face significant hunger challenges. To address these challenges, we’re providing over half a million in grants to 18 community and national organizations advancing sustainable, systemic solutions to hunger and food insecurity in the region.

The grants come at a critical time as Israel and the wider region continue to face significant challenges. The toll of war on the Israeli economy, food costs, and agricultural supply chains has intensified the need for both emergency aid and systemic solutions. This comes on top of alarming cuts to key ministries and hunger programs, with a worrisome expectation that charity will fill the gap.

“We look for partners who not only recognize the urgency of hunger but are actively working to create meaningful, systemic change,” said Ishai Menuchin, MAZON’s Israel Director. “This group of organizations brings deep knowledge and commitment to some of the most pressing challenges in Israel and the region. Together we are advocating for equitable food systems, amplifying marginalized voices, and holding institutions accountable. MAZON’s role is to help strengthen and connect their efforts, because only together can we build a future where no one is left behind or goes hungry.”

MAZON’s support focuses on organizations that don’t just meet urgent food needs—they also work to protect fragile nutrition safety nets, address inequities in food access, and advocate for lasting policy change. This year’s grantees are building more resilient food systems and tackling the root causes of hunger for some of Israel’s most vulnerable communities, including women, refugees, Bedouins, Arab citizens, and those facing poverty.

“Food security and combating poverty are the focus of our policy work” said Becky Keshet, Director of Social Justice at Rabbis for Human Rights. “This past year, MAZON support has helped us create Jewish programs for a week devoted to food insecurity as well as to take a leading part in the establishment of a state authority for combating poverty. MAZON’s support is critical financially as well as organizationally, helping us build cooperative ventures with other organizations.”

Looking Ahead

These grants reflect MAZON’s conviction that hunger is solvable — but only if we move beyond charity toward systemic change. By investing in organizations across the U.S., Indian Country, and Israel, MAZON is advancing a vision of food security rooted in dignity, equity, and justice.

Together, these grants will strengthen food systems, protect vulnerable populations, and build the power needed to end hunger once and for all.

Want to learn more? Visit mazon.org/grants for our domestic work and mazon.org/priorities/israel for our Israel efforts.

EAF Grantee Partners

• Alabama Arise
• Alaska Federation of Natives
• Alaska Food Policy Council
• Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
• Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance
• Center for Rural Affairs
• Centro para la Nueva Economía
• Children’s Action Alliance
• Espacios Abiertos
• Feeding Alabama
• Feeding Indiana’s Hungry
• Feeding Kentucky
• Florida Impact
• Florida Policy Institute
• Georgia Budget & Policy Institute
• Hawai’i Appleseed
• Hawai’i Children’s Action Network
• Hawai’i Foodbank
• Hawai’i Public Health Institute
• Hunger Free Oklahoma
• Indiana Justice Project
• Indy Hunger Network
• Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud
• Invest in Louisiana
• Kansas Action for Children
• Kansas Appleseed
• Kentucky Center for Economic Policy
• Latino Community Fund
• Mississippi Center for Justice
• Nebraska Appleseed
• North Carolina Budget & Tax Center
• Oklahoma Policy Institute
• OpenSky Policy Institute
• Poverty Solutions Group
• Regional Food Bank of Northeast Florida
• Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
• Tennessee Justice Center
• Voices for Georgia’s Children
• William Morris Institute for Justice

Indian Country Grantee Partners

• Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IAFI)
• Makoce Agriculture Development
• Native Food and Nutrition Resource Alliance
• Native Agriculture Financial Services (NAFS)

Israel Grantee Partners

• Adva Center
• ASSAF – Aid Organization for Refugees
• Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)
• Itach-Ma’aki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice
• Latet
• Leket Israel
• Life & Environment (L&E)
• Negev Coexistence Forum (NCF)
• Nevet
• Rabbis for Human Rights
• Sidreh
• Sikkuy-Aufoq
• Solidarity (Solidariut L’omanut Activism V’zhuyot Adam)
• The Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition
• The Jerusalem Food Rescuers (Muslala Art Trax)
• Tzedek Centers
• The Natural Step (TNS)
• 121 Engine for Social Change