The Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program, chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has awarded Chemung County with $32,673 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs within the county.  Monies are allocated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas around the country, and Local FEMA Boards are charged with distribution of these funds to local service agencies.

Under terms of the grant, local agencies chosen to receive these funds must: 1) be private, voluntary non-profits or units of government, 2) have an accounting system, 3) practice nondiscrimination, 4) have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs, and 5) private voluntary organizations must have a voluntary board. 

In Chemung County, the local board has distributed Emergency Food and Shelter funds previously to such agencies as Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army.  As a result, in the previous year, 15,000 meals were provided to people in need, 582 households received rent and/or shelter assistance, and 44 households received utility assistance. 

Qualified agencies in Chemung interested in applying for Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds are urged to apply; the deadline is Friday, August 12, 2011.

For more information, contact Paula Borden at United Way of the Southern Tier at (607) 936-3753.