By Owen Boss
Staff Writer
More than $55,000 in federal funding will be disbursed to support social services organizations throughout Hampshire County as part of the national Emergency Food and Shelter Program's annual distribution of funds.
Area organizations receiving funding this year are in Northampton, Easthampton, Amherst and Huntington and include the Amherst Survival Center; Center for Human Development's Grace House, Not Bread Alone Soup Kitchen and SRO Project; Easthampton Community Center; Northampton Survival Center; Pioneer Valley Assembly of God Food Pantry; The Salvation Army of Hampshire County; ServiceNet's Interfaith Shelter; St. John's Manna Soup Kitchen and Trinity Church's Jubilee Cupboard.
Each county's allotment of dollars is determined by a national formula that is based on the area's unemployment percentage for the most recent 12-month period and recent poverty statistics.
The local board for Hampshire County, chaired by Mark Maloni of Community Action, is responsible for awarding the national funds to local organizations. Funding decisions are based on an organization's ability to distribute aid effectively to those most at risk and also to work within the guidelines of the federal grant.
"After much discussion about the areas of critical need in the county, we designed an allocation plan which we feel distributes the available dollars most effectively to achieve the greatest good for the local community," Maloni said.
Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com
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