Emergency Food & Shelter

Federal and Deschutes County Emergency Food & Shelter Funds

When funding is available, we facilitate the deployment of grant funds from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Emergency Food & Shelter Program (EFSP) and from Deschutes County, as allocated from video lottery revenue by the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners, to agencies meeting immediate community needs.

For 2025, only Deschutes County Emergency Food & Shelter Grants (EFSG) funds are available at this time. We have $60,000 available to support agencies providing financial stability and community resilience supports, such as food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience services, in Deschutes County.

We recently accepted grant applications for these funds. The application is now closed to agencies and programs serving Deschutes County.

Federal EFSP funds are on hold. In January, the U.S. Office of Management & Budget (OMB) released a memo 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 recent Executive Orders (EOs). OMB rescinded the memo, but EFSP has not been allowed to release payments to local service providers. The program is being reviewed within FEMA to ensure it complies with the EOs and the DHS guidance and payments are on hold until approval has been received from FEMA. There is no information on that timeline.

A Local Board, made up of representatives from United Way of Central Oregon, County government, American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and community members representing those experiencing homelessness, nonprofit and government services, and local churches and synagogues, convene each year to determine how the funds will be awarded to local agencies providing financial stability and community resilience programs and services.

UWCO recently accepted applications from local 501(c)(3) nonprofit, faith-based, and governmental agencies in Deschutes County wishing to receive funding for these services. All organizations providing these essential services to individuals in Deschutes County were eligible to apply for a grant.

Last year, 27 Central Oregon nonprofits that provide emergency food, shelter, and financial stability programs in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties were awarded funding during this process. They include those Emergency Food & Shelter Partners listed below.