A New Report Presents Recommendations for Grantmakers Concerning Issues with Online Applications

A new report conducted by the Ford Foundation, Online Grant Applications and Reporting: Practical Wisdom and Recommendations for Grantmakers in the Words of a Grantseeker, presents a review of the online applications of sixty-six funders. The analysis includes typical challenges commonly faced by grantseekers while completing online applications, including inconsistencies in formatting and technological difficulties. The Ford Foundation also makes suggestions to funding organizations on how to potentially remedy some of the obstacles grantseekers come across during the application process.

Free Meals for Children This Summer

The Chester Summer Food Service Program offers free nutritious snacks and meals to qualifying children under 18 while they are out of school on summer vacation. Also, people over 18 years old with disabilities who partake in school programs for people who are physically or mentally disabled are eligible.

When: Monday through Thursday, 10am-12 noon; July 27th-August 26th, 2011.
Where: Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, 2900 West Ninth Street,
Chester, PA.
For more information call: (610) 497-7660. 



Flyer

The Food Trust's Farmers' Market Program

Photo labeled for reuse from flickr.com

In order to better serve Philadelphia neighborhoods that may not have access to fresh foods, the Food Trust and Philadelphia Department of Public Health are introducing  the Philly Food Bucks for those receiving SNAP (food stamps) to use their benefits at participating local farmers' markets. The Program will give those who use SNAP benefits to purchase food from participating farmers' markets $2 in Philly Food Bucks for every $5 of benefits they spend.

Many of the Food Trust's farmers' markets accept EBT/Access Cards (SNAP/ food stamps), Philly Food Bucks, and Farmers' Market Nutrition Program vouchers. Participating farmers' markets are located in a variety of neighborhoods.

 

Complete List of the Food Trust's Philadelphia Farmers' Markets

Complete List of the Food Trust's Suburban Farmers' Markets

Not only will this effort support local farmers, it will also help people gain access to nutritious and locally grown foods.

Low Cost Microchip and Vaccination Clinics for Your Pets



Keep your pets safe with microchips and vaccinations



The Delaware County SPCA is giving you an opportunity to get low cost vaccinations and microchipping for your pets, from now until October of this year. Vaccinations cost between $7-$10, with the exception of the canine flu vaccine, which is $20. Microchips cost $35 each.



The SPCA will hold these clinics on either the first or second Monday of each month, from 4 pm to 7 pm. Be sure to be in line at the Adoption Center no later than 6:30 at 555 Sandy Bank Road, Media, PA 19063. Dogs should be leashed and cats should be brought in pet carriers. Bring your pets' medical records if they are available.

Upcoming clinics will be held on: August 1st, September 12, and October 3rd. There will also be a bonus clinic held during the Bark in the Park Dog Walk & Fall Festival at Rose Tree Park.

$20 microchips for pets at the Delco SPCA on July 4th

Using microchip identification helps to quickly and efficiently return pets to their owners. When a pet can be quickly matched to its owner, it avoids the expense of housing, feeding, providing medical care, and outplacing or euthanizing the pet.

The Delco SPCA is offering a walk-in clinic, first come-first serve from 12pm-4pm (be in line by 3:30pm). Cash, credit cards and checks are acceptable methods of payment.

Pennsylvania Launches Summer Food Online Locator

From our friends at FRAC.  

According to research (pdf) done by the University of Pennsylvania, and headed by Emma Ellman-Golan, a Penn Senior and Fox program fellow working at the Brookings Institution, half of Philadelphia’s eligible children participate in the Summer Food Service Program – three times the national rate, twice Pennsylvania’s rate, and better than the rates of most other big cities.

However, tens of thousands of Philadelphia’s children still face hunger in the summer, and according to a report from the Food Research and Action Center, child nutrition suffers when school is out. In order to make more families and children aware of the availability of free summer meals, the university developed a website – pasummermeals.com – that displays up to 25 summer food sites for children closest to a user’s address, along with operating hours and meal types. Summer sites must be kept open throughout the summer, notes Golan. Most of Philadelphia’s 1300 summer meal sites close in late July or early August. “For all the federal rules and regulations,” writes Golan, “no real consequences follow when summer participation rates in the state drop into single digits (as they did in more than a dozen states last summer).”

Delco Family Game Night