On January 27, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memorandum to federal agencies, requiring a temporary pause on all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the recent executive orders. OMB has rescinded this memorandum.
The Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) National Board recognizes that the memorandum and the recent executive orders may have created a great amount of uncertainty and anxiety for the Local Boards and Local Recipient Organizations participating in the program. The National Board is working closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to better understand and respond to the anticipated impact on the EFSP and the program participants. EFSP staff will provide timely updates on the program’s web page as more information becomes available.
https://www.efsp.unitedway.org/efsp/website/index.cfm
United Way of Greater New Bedford plays a leading role in distributing funds from the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), which was created by Congress in 1983 to help meet the needs of hungry and homeless people throughout the United States.
We serve as the local manager for Bristol County, working with a Local Board to distribute EFSP funds to expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas. Local organizations, whether nonprofit or governmental, may apply for EFSP funding. The Local Board is responsible for considering all applications, and for determining which organizations will receive funds.
Criteria
Under the terms of the grant from the National Board, local organizations chosen to receive funds must:
- Be a non-profit
- Have an accounting system and conduct an annual audit
- Practice nondiscrimination
- Have demonstrated the capability to operate emergency food and/or shelter programs
- If they are a private volunteer organization, they must have a volunteer board
- Provide services in Attleboro, Fall River, New Bedford, or Taunton
Qualifying organizations are urged to apply. Any applicant that serves clients from more than one of the four major cities in Bristol County — New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton and Attleboro — must submit a separate budget for each city.
For more information about the Emergency Food and Shelter Board Program please visit http://www.efsp.unitedway.org/.
Contact
Please direct questions to Michelle N. Hantman, 508-994-9625, ext. 212 or mhantman@unitedwayofgnb.org