Food Waste Reduction Grant

Compost facilities, compost haulers, local governments, anaerobic digestion facilities, and food recovery organizations are eligible. For definitions of each of these entities and more eligibility details, see the RFP.

*Please note: K-12 schools, colleges and university facilities are not currently eligible but may partner with an eligible applicant on a project.

Grant funds must be used to develop food waste reduction infrastructure by expanding food donation networks or organics recycling operations, including collection and hauling.

Examples of approved uses of FWR Grant funds include refrigeration systems, freezers, food preparation equipment, kitchenware, vehicles, site development costs, construction of facilities to handle wasted food, equipment or vehicle purchases, carts, buckets, and equipment installation costs. Example projects can be found in the RFP.

*Please note: Grant funds may not be used for contingency funds/"buffers," employee salaries, land acquisition costs, administrative expenses such as overhead (i.e., ongoing costs of operations), utility costs, studies or work performed by consultants, contracted collection costs, and/or payment for other contracted services such as payment to a vendor for operating a collection program.

Priority project grants support investments in public food recovery and organics diversion programs that have been determined by DEACS to be of particular importance to growing and expanding efficient and effective waste reduction and organics recycling services throughout North Carolina. These projects are eligible to receive higher amounts of funding and are subject to change each year. The specifics for priority projects can be found in each year's RFP.

All FWR Grant funds are distributed on a reimbursement basis. Purchases must be made during the grant contract period and requests for reimbursement can be made after the grantee has paid for grant purchases and they have been delivered. DEACS offers partial reimbursements throughout the contract period and will continue to reimburse grantees until 90% of the award amount has been expended, withholding 10% of funds until receipt of an approved final report.

FWR grant winners must provide a cash match equal to or exceeding 20 percent of the requested grant funding. For example, a grantee requesting a $10,000 grant must provide at least $2,000 of matching funds for a total project cost of $12,000. In-kind contributions will not be accepted in lieu of cash match. The 20 percent cash match is removed from each reimbursement request submitted.

The FWR grant RFP usually opens in late summer and closes toward the end of October. Exact dates vary annually, and the timeframe is subject to change at NCDEQ's discretion. Once released, the RFP specifies closing date and time.

• A Simple Gesture ($25,000) will purchase a van, an auxiliary air conditioning unit, cooler bags, and folding aluminum carts to increase their efficiency and capacity for rescued food collection and distribution.
• The Bulb ($20,000) will purchase a cargo van and walk-in cooler enhancements to improve efficiency and increase their food rescue and distribution capacity.
• Cabarrus Cooperative Christian Ministry ($60,000) will purchase a walk-in freezer and cooler to increase their capacity for rescued food collection.
• Chatham County ($5,000) will purchase storage shelters, a pressure washer, and educational material to build and begin a residential food scrap drop-off pilot.
• CORA ($20,000) will purchase refrigerators, a freezer, and a concrete pad to increase their capacity to rescue and distribute food.
• Dirtcraft Organics ($60,000) will purchase a modified collections truck and bins to expand their Type 2 compost facility.
• The Greater Mt. Airy Ministry of Hospitality ($22,000) will purchase a walk-in freezer to increase their capacity to store and distribute edible food for their pantry.
• Henderson County ($40,000) will purchase a trommel screener to remove contaminants from finished compost generated by the food scrap drop off and school programs.
• Orange County ($13,000) will purchase smart carts to expand their food scrap drop-off program.
• PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro ($60,000) will purchase a walk-in refrigerator, a box truck, and tools to begin a composting program to increase their capacity to store rescued food and to keep food scraps from going to landfill.
• Scrap Daddy Composting ($30,000) will purchase a box truck and carts to expand hauling of organics for commercial clients.
• Second Harvest Food Bank ($30,000) will purchase a cold storage unit to increase their capacity for sorting edible produce.    
• Simply Green ($15,000) will purchase a skid steer loader, woodchipper, wash trailer and supplies for a community compost system.

• Asheville Poverty Initiative - 12 Baskets ($22,200) purchased commercial freezers and refrigerators, kitchen equipment, shelving units, storage bins, educational materials, and compost equipment to expand food distribution services and onsite composting.  
• City of Belmont ($20,000) purchased roll-out carts, small buckets, bio-liners, and educational materials for its 6-month, 375 household compost pilot program.
• Buncombe County ($54,000) purchased an aerated static pile (ASP) pre-processor for its new compost facility at the Buncombe County Landfill.
• Crown Town Compost ($60,000) purchased a pre-processor and post turner in order to increase the amount of food waste processed after a local digester closed.
• Dirtcraft Organics ($60,000) purchased concrete slabs, a roofing system, divider walls, and a water collection tank for a new Type 2 aerated static pile compost facility.
• F.A.R.M. Café ($15,400) purchased a manual tray sealing machine with compostable trays, cooking equipment, packaging materials, freezer, and label writer to streamline the production and improve tracking of ready-to-eat meals using local excess B-grade produce that would otherwise not make it to the marketplace.
• Food Connection ($25,000) purchased meal packing supplies, inventory management software and informational materials to expand their program that rescues chef-prepared surplus food for redistribution.  
• Mecklenburg County ($40,000) purchased shelters, kiosks, containers, and educational materials for its residential food waste collection pilot program at each of its full-service recycling centers.
• NewSoil Vermiculture ($20,000) purchased a dump truck and build a concrete slab to better increase operational capacity and efficiency.
• The ReCollective ($10,000) purchased compost buckets, bins, website updates, a pallet jack, a pressure washer, and a cargo van modification in order to scale up collection in service area.
• Scrap Daddy Composting ($7,000) purchased bins, buckets with lids, and compostable liners to support a multi-family compost program.
• Terra Bella ($20,000) purchased a screener, bins, a pressure washer skid, bags for finished compost, and promotional materials to improve operational efficiencies for their compost facility.

• Brooks Contractor ($60,000) purchased a storage building and concrete anchor blocks for finished compost to efficiently sell a locally sourced potting soil.
• Buncombe County ($30,000) purchased a pre-processor and aeration kits for an ASP compost pilot and demonstration facility.
• CompostAVL ($14,000) purchased a lift gate, buckets and a dishwasher to increase their food scrap hauling capacity for residents and businesses.
• CompostNow ($40,000) purchased a new food waste compaction system to improve hauling efficiency and support business expansion.
• Crown Town Compost ($60,000) constructed an ASP system to increase processing capacity at their new compost facility.
• Crystal Coast ($20,000) purchased a subcompact tractor, collection bins, and educational materials to expand their food scrap collection business.
• The Town of Davidson ($6,500) purchased roll carts, small bins, and signage to create five new food scrap drop-off sites.
• The City of Durham ($20,000) purchased and installed a small vertical compactor to expand food scrap collection at their convenience center.
• Henderson County ($20,000) purchased aeration kits, concrete, steel plates, and electrical wiring to expand their small Type 3 compost facility.
• McGill Environmental ($60,000) constructed a food waste sorting station to increase processing capacity at their Merry Oaks regional composting facility.
• Wilmington Compost Company ($63,000) purchased a collection vehicle, dump truck, cargo van and bins to increase food waste collection for their compost facility.