Setting up your program
This section will help you develop a budget and fund-raising plan.
When planning and gathering support for your Protein for All program, a key question you need to consider is how the program will be funded.
For virtual programs, the expenses might be limited to photocopying handouts to give to parents and training for case workers, staff, or volunteers about the program. For in-person programs, where you’re actually providing food, the list of budget items increases.
For in-person programs, implementation choices impact your funding needs.
How many people will you be giving food to or interacting with?
How much will it cost to provide the food through purchases?
What, if any, could be covered through donation requests?
Can the needed funds be accessed through funding available through the court system, covered in full or offset through cash or food donations, or supported by partnering with a food shelf or non-profit? If you do partner with a non-profit, do they have someone who can work with you to write a grant to fund your program?
If everyone is invited to take food as part of the program, you can encourage a “take a bar, return a box” practice for those who can afford it. This acknowledges that at any given moment, someone might be struggling and need a protein-rich snack; and can also translate into a way to bring in a significant supply of food.
Potential sources of funding include: non-profits, retail outlets like Costco and other grocery stores, small grants through foundations (for example, Clif Family Foundation), and detailed research into municipal budgets have resulted in small pockets of money for feeding people experiencing food insecurity that have been leveraged to support Protein for All programs.
Keep in mind that Protein for All programs usually have relatively small budgets, but it does vary based on the number of people you hope to serve. Get creative and think broadly about how you can fund your program, either through financial donations or food donations.