Grant Proposal: Reducing Retail Food Waste while

Feeding the Homeless in Our Community

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

NUR 3316: Population and Global Health, Dr. Rani Sangha

Jamie Driggs, RN

December 4, 2021

“I pledge…”
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Reducing Retail Food Waste while Feeding the Homeless in Our Community

Project Description

The idea that I have for this grant proposal is to establish a collection service that will

work with local grocery retailers and restaurants to collect short-dated and expired foods that are

still good to eat, but can no longer be sold to consumers, and distribute these collections to

homeless shelters and food banks within the Richmond, VA area. This idea comes from my

personal experiences of working in retail and the food service industry and witnessing

unnecessary food waste firsthand. This service will address food insecurities that the homeless

population faces every day and will also benefit the grocery stores and restaurants by reducing

food waste and profit loss through donations.

Statement of Need

People experiencing homelessness face multiple health disparities, from lack of physical

and mental healthcare, clothing and hygiene needs, discrimination, malnutrition, and especially

hunger due to lack of income and access to food sources. This proposal would increase the

availability and quality of food for the homeless community. Retail food waste also contributes

to increasing costs of food for all. Through donation efforts, retailers and restaurants can reduce

their financial losses while decreasing the rate of inflation for their products.

I have chosen this vulnerable population because I have a profound belief that food

should never be a privilege, and no one should experience hunger or food insecurity. This,

combined with high rates of household food waste in the United States, makes me believe that

there must be things we can do within our local community to address this problem. Though I
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would like to find ways to educate the public and reduce household food waste as well, I strongly

feel that starting with feeding the homeless and food-insecure populations first will have the

greatest impact within the community.

Community Partners

For the development of this grant proposal, I would start by reaching out to grocery

retailers in the area. I would establish partnerships with Kroger, Food Lion, Publix, Aldi, Lidl,

and Walmart, as these are the most likely to have the greatest amounts of food waste due to

consumer buying patterns, surpluses, and product loss due to expiry dates. From there, I would

also branch out to restaurant owners in the area for additional participation.

For implementation once donors have been established, I would partner with local food

banks, homeless shelters, and volunteer programs (such as Meals on Wheels) to address

collection and distribution needs. I will need volunteers to help collect donations and distribute

them to the food banks and shelters.

For evaluation of the proposal, we will need to keep up to date information on how much

we receive in donations, and how much of those donations make it to the homeless population

throughout the implementation period. By collecting data on who provided how much donations,

we will be able to identify if any specific donors are not finding themselves with much to give,

and we can reallocate our resources to the donors who have the highest needs. This same

evaluation can be made by tracking how much of the distributed food gets eaten versus still

ending up wasted.

Focus Area
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My proposal most closely aligns with the zero hunger Sustainable Development Goal, to

“end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition”.

Program Details and Proposed Timeline

Activities to Accomplish Program

The activities that must be accomplished to make this program successful are as follows:

Historically, companies have refused to donate any out of date, but still safely edible

foods due to fears of being sued in the event that someone becomes ill. We need to connect with

the grocery stores in our community and educate them about the current laws that protect them

when donating expired foods. We should also discuss how donating these foods will improve

their bottom line through tax write offs and reduce inflation rates due to waste, while

simultaneously nourishing the local homeless population.

Once partnerships with grocers have been established, we will need to reach out to local

homeless shelters and food banks to cultivate a plan for the distribution of food donations. This

can be done via promoting scheduled free meals at shelters, or in conjunction with programs like

Meals on Wheels. Once the program is running, we will be able to analyze the data to assess the

effectiveness of our choices, and make adjustments as needed.

When donation and distribution agreements have been made, we will need to hire staff

and utilize volunteers to maintain the collection and distribution of food donations on a regular

basis. There will also need to be a hired Program Administrator who will oversee all of the

operations, while collecting real-time data for evaluating the impact of the program as well.
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Once the program has been in operation for at least six months, we should be able to have

enough data to determine whether or not the program has been beneficial.

Goals and Objectives

The three main goals I have chosen to focus on throughout this program are:

 Goal #1: Increase the amount of food available to the homeless population.

 Goal #2: Decrease the amount of food that is wasted by grocery stores.

 Goal #3: Increase awareness within the community of where homeless and/or

food insecure individuals can obtain these food donations.

Duration of Program

The anticipated duration to establish and evaluate this program will be one year,

beginning in January 2022.

Timetable for Implementation

Activity Description Month /Year

Submit grant proposal. January 2022

Grant acceptance. Decide which grocers we would like to contact. February 2022

Establish partnerships with grocers in the area who will make donations. March 2022

Meet with local food banks and homeless shelters who will receive the April 2022
donations.

Decide on pick up/drop off schedules and map/plan routes. Advertise new May 2022
positions to be filled for drivers to collect and distribute donations and
volunteer opportunities.

Training of drivers and volunteers. June 2022

Based on staffing and volunteer participation, discuss partnership with June 2022
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Meals on Wheels.

Implement the project. Take note of what is and is not working, while July –
making adjustments as needed. Maintain data collection throughout the December 2022
process.

Review the collected data to determine if the program has been successful. December 2020

Proposal Budget

Cost Center Amount

Personnel:

Two drivers, paid $15/hour, x 10 hours per week x 52

weeks=$15,600 $27,560

Accountant, paid $23/hour x 10 hours per week x 52

weeks=$11,960

Supplies:

Two (previously owned) Chevrolet Cargo Vans = 18,000 ea. X 2=

$36,000

Paper = $30 x 4 for the year = $120 $36,870

Pens = $10 x 6 for the year = $60

Miscellaneous office supplies = $15 x 6 for the year = $90

Internet access, $50/mo x 12 months = $600

Equipment:

Office = $7,375/yr

Desk = $150 $7,690

Chairs x3 = $90

Filing cabinet = $75

Travel: $22,011
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Van #1 Gas Costs: 351 miles per week/14MPG = 25 gallons per

week x $3.23 = $80.75 x 52 weeks = $4,199

Van #1 Mileage: 136.89/wk @ 0.39/mile x 52 weeks = $7,119

Van #2 Gas Costs: 329.4 miles per week/14MPG = 24 gallons per

week x $3.23 = $77.52 x 52 weeks = $4,031

Van #2 Mileage: 329.4/wk @ 0.39/mile x 52 weeks = $6,680

Computer costs:
Printer/Fax/Copier machine = $100

Desktop computer = $750 $1,005

Windows Office = $110

McAfee Protection = $45

Other:
Marketing material, promotion of the project $4,864
Marketing and promotional costs: $4,864

Total:
$100,000

**All items above must include justification and be very detailed** Must not exceed
maximum amount
for award
$100,000.00

Measurement
The measurement of this proposal's success will be conducted by the accountant's

documentation of the amount of food that is donated to the local food bank. Questionnaire

responses could also be requested from the recipients of the food donations, rating the quality of

the food they received, to further determine the benefits, or challenges, of this program.
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I truly hope to hear that the homeless and food insecure populations report an increase in

the selection and quality of the foods that they receive as a direct result of this program, and that

it has made a significant impact in their lives.

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References:

Barrow, V., & Medcalf, P. (2019). The introduction of a homeless healthcare team in hospital

improves staff knowledge and attitudes towards homeless patients. Clinical Medicine,

19(4), 294–298. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmedicine.19-4-294

Byerlee, D., & Fanzo, J. (2019). The sdg of zero hunger 75 years on: Turning full circle on

agriculture and nutrition. Global Food Security, 21, 52–59.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2019.06.002

Chesterfield food bank. (n.d.). Chesterfield food bank, serving chesterfield county. CFB.

Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.cfboc.org/

Fawcett, J., & Ellenbecker, C. (2015). A proposed conceptual model of nursing and population

health. Nursing Outlook, 63(3), 288–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2015.01.009

Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (n.d.). Triple aim - The best care for the whole population

at the lowest cost. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from

http://www.ihi.org/Engage/Initiatives/TripleAim/Pages/default.aspx

United Nations Developmet Programme. (n.d.). Sustainable development goals | united nations

development programme. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved

September 6, 2021, from https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals