This month, the Campbell Soup Foundation awarded 35 Community Impact Grants, totaling $620,000 to support the work of our community partners to increase food access, encourage heathy living and nurture our hometowns. Giving to our local communities is core to who we are, and these grants reaffirm our commitment to building and strengthening community connections in the neighborhoods we call home.

These 35 nonprofit organizations serve 20 of our hometown communities. Each went through a competitive nomination, application and review process earlier this year before being selected. Organizations applied for grants in January to fund specific projects, such as youth sports programs, the development of parks, schoolyards and green spaces, and mobile teaching kitchens.

Using grant funds for emerging needs

In March, our Foundation let the organizations know they had been selected for a grant. They were also informed that the grants were now unrestricted, allowing the organizations to use the funding to address needs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now more than ever, our community partners are critical resources in our hometowns. They are providing our neighbors in need with food and services,” said Kim Fortunato, Vice President, Community Affairs and President, Campbell Soup Foundation. “We’re grateful for their partnership, and proud to assist them with any emerging needs as a result of the pandemic.”

Grants were given to the following organizations in our hometown communities:

• Bloomfield, Conn.: FoodShare, Inc. & Special Olympics Connecticut Inc.
• Camden, N.J.: After-School All-Stars, Camden Health and Athletic Association, Cathedral Kitchen, Philabundance, Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society, The Trust for Public Land, UrbanPromise Ministries & Vetri Community Partnership
• Charlotte, N.C.: 100 Gardens
• Denver, Pa.: YMCA of Reading & Berks County
• Downingtown, Pa.: Chester County Food Bank
• Goodyear, Ariz.: Valley of the Sun YMCA
• Hanover, Pa.: New Hope Ministries, Inc.
• Hyannis, Mass.: The Family Pantry of Cape Cod
• Lakeland, Fla.: Talbot House Ministries of Lakeland & Volunteers in Service to the Elderly
• Maxton, N.C.: Church Community Services of Scotland County & Robeson County Church and Community Center
• Milwaukee, Wis.: Fondy Food Center, Hunger Task Force & Urban Ecology Center
• Napoleon, Ohio: Buckeye Trail Association Inc. & Together We Can Make A Difference Initiatives
• Norwalk, Conn.: Filling in the Blanks & Person to Person
• Paris, Texas: Lamar County Food Pantry
• Richmond, Utah: Cache Community Food Pantry
• Salem, Ore.: Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion and Polk Counties, Marion Polk Food Share, & Salem Harvest
• Stockton, Calif.: Emergency Food Bank
• Tualatin, Ore.: Growing Gardens
• Willard, Ohio: Willard Hope Center

The Community Impact Grant process

The Foundation’s Community Impact Grant program is powered by a group of dedicated Campbell employees – from nominators across our locations who invite organizations in their communities to apply, to the Executive Committee who reviews and rates the applications, to the Board of Trustees who guide the strategy of the Foundation and approve funding decisions.

Learn more about how we’re supporting our communities in response to COVID-19 and how a few of our dedicated partners are adapting their work to meet changing needs.