The St. Croix Foundation, in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, announced the opening of the “Farm Tienda” grant application cycle to support local farmers as they continue to rebuild from hurricanes Irma and Maria. The grant cycle opened April 30, with applications due by May 31 to the foundation.
Through this program, the foundation will award durable, eco-friendly container farm stands, or “Farm Tiendas,” to eligible farmers to help bring their businesses back online following the 2017 hurricanes. The word tienda means “store” in Spanish.
Four “Farm Tiendas” will be awarded to successful applicants through the initial pilot. Made from steel containers that may also be outfitted with solar panels, Wi-Fi, and potable water, the farm stands will allow farmers to stabilize and expand their businesses while also serving as resiliency hubs for communities in the aftermath of future storms, according to a press release from the foundation.
Following Hurricane Maria which devastated the USVI and Puerto Rico, The Coca-Cola Company committed to supporting local communities and customers in a meaningful way, the press release said. Because many small businesses, which are the backbone of their communities, were significantly impacted in the U.S. Caribbean, Coca-Cola conceived of a Pop Tienda program to support the islands’ recovery. Grants were awarded to local nonprofits, like the Hispanic Federation in Puerto Rico, to lead the pilot. The Puerto Rico project, “Pop Tienda,” provided container “stores” to mom-and-pop small business owners who lost their businesses in the storm. The St. Croix Foundation received a $100,000 grant from Coca-Cola to replicate the project.
All applications will be reviewed by the foundation’s Grants Review Committee. Two grant information sessions will be held at the St. Croix Foundation today, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Submissions for grants must be completed online using the foundation’s grant and scholarship website portal at www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=scf. Funding decisions will be announced June 30 and the grant term will begin July 30 and run through Aug. 1, 2020.