As the benefits Lodge grants can bring to underserved populations and Lodges themselves became clearer, the ENF dedicated more and more funding to the program. Since the CIP debuted in 2005-06, its budget has grown more than 5,000%, from $350,000 to nearly $18 million. This increase in funding wasn’t arbitrary. It was based on the actual results from grant implementation in Lodge communities. Children, veterans, the elderly, and many other underserved populations have had brighter days because Elk volunteers know what their neighbors need and apply for grants to meet those needs.
Over the last five years, food insecurity has taken on new prominence in every American community. This can be seen in the data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2022, food prices increased by 3.9%; in the following two years, prices increased by 9.9% and 5.8%. Over the same period, the number of American households experiencing food insecurity increased from 10.2% to 12.8% to 13.5%.
But, if one looked where Elks Lodges were directing their grant use, it would have been clear even earlier that hunger was an expanding problem. The greatest uptick in CIP grant use to address food insecurity took place one year earlier than the USDA’s data shows; between the Beacon, Spotlight, and Gratitude Grants, which had increased flexibility due to the challenges of the pandemic, projects addressing food insecurity increased from 22.9% of all grant projects in 2020 to 61.7% in 2021.
Before it could be quantified into official statistics, Elks noticed food banks and pantries seeing increased clientele, more seniors receiving Meals on Wheels deliveries, and students needing additional backpacks of food while away from school.
After projects addressing food insecurity nearly tripled in 2021, about 50% of CIP grants have been used for that cause in the years since. Not only did Elks adjust to using CIP grants to contend with a critical need in their communities, they also established mutually beneficial relationships with food suppliers and nonprofit organizations to effectively and efficiently provide food to those who need it.
After supporting a local food bank with its Gratitude Grant in the immediate aftermath of pandemic lockdowns, Santa Maria, Calif., Lodge No. 1538 continued that partnership to distribute more than one million pounds of food in the Lodge’s parking lot.
Ohio River Valley, Ohio, Lodge No. 231 uses a Beacon Grant to address food insecurity in the local middle school by providing weekend food and hosting cooking classes to teach students how to prepare healthy food. Wallace, Idaho, Lodge No. 331 receives a Gratitude Grant to purchase food for its own pantry, at which members serve free community meals and distribute food to-go. With its Spotlight Grant, Claremore, Okla., Lodge No. 1230 packs food baskets on a monthly basis to be distributed through a church pantry.
Elks members are not separate from their communities. Elks are also teachers, bus drivers, doctors; they are embedded in their communities, observing and sharing the struggles of their neighbors. The Lodge isn’t a sanctum to be apart from community needs, but a conduit to address those needs.
CIP grants are one of the most effective means that Lodges have to support their neighbors; the response of Lodges to increased food insecurity shows the extent to which Elks intimately know what their neighbors need and their ability to address those needs.
If you see food insecurity in your community, use your grants to take action! Check out 20 project ideas for providing hunger relief here, and apply for funding through the CIP Grants Dashboard.