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Managing editor

Significantly more federal money is available this year to meet the emergency food and housing needs of low-income Anoka County residents.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded Anoka County $235,357 under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program.

That’s a little over $100,000 more than the $134,966 the county received last year under the program.

The reason for the increased funding is a combination of more dollars being made available for the FEMA disbursement and rise of the unemployment rate in the Anoka County because of business closings and job losses in today’s economy, according to Leah Cason, housing grants coordinator, Anoka County Community Action Program (ACCAP), which administers the FEMA program in the county.

Unemployment statistics from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) show that Anoka County’s unemployment rate in December 2009 was 7.9 percent and there were four straight months in early 2009 when the unemployment rate topped 9 percent, including a high of 9.4 percent in March 2009.

By contrast the DEED statistics show that the county’s unemployment rate in December 2008 was 6.9 percent, in November 2008 at 5.9 percent and in January 2008 at 5.2 percent.

According to a report from the Anoka County Human Services Division to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the county’s unemployment rate in 2009 was the highest in the seven-county metropolitan area, with most job losses occurring in the manufacturing, construction and retail sectors.

“These funds are allocated by a formula based on unemployment and poverty related statistics,” said Anoka County FEMA Board Chairman Patrick McFarland, ACCAP executive director.

“They must be used to provide grants to local nonprofit organizations and units of government who provide emergency food and shelter services to low income residents of Anoka County or to homeless individuals and families seeking services in the county.”

Local organizations and agencies who can provide these services in the county are encouraged to apply for these funds, according to McFarland said.

“The decision to fund or not to fund an organization or program, which meets FEMA guidelines, rests with the local FEMA Board,” he said.

Last year all agencies and organizations that applied by the deadline received at least a portion of their requesting funding, McFarland said.

According to Cason, local agencies that have applied for and received the FEMA grant funding in past years have included Community Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP), which has a food shelf that serves Anoka County; Rise, which provide emergency housing for people with mental health issues; Alexandra House, which operates a shelter for battered women and their children in the county; and the Salvation Army, which has a housing program at its location in Coon Rapids.

Local organizations should send a letter of interest postmarked no later than Thursday, Feb. 11, including a brief description of amounts requested and uses of funds, to Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program, c/o Anoka County Community Action Program, Inc., 1201 89th Ave. N.E., Suite 345, Blaine, MN 55434.

The board will meet the next day, Feb. 12, to determine which organizations who submitted applications will be funded and by how much, Cason said.

For more information contact McFarland at 763-783-4728 or Cason at 763-792-8795.



Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it