FY27 Recommended Operating Budget Updates

• Expanding Local Food Investments and Nutrition Education: In FY27, the Resident and Community Gardening Grant Program will be expanded to a total budget of $250,000 and the program’s scope will broaden to include nutrition, cooking, and healthy eating education. This expansion is designed to address the loss of the federal SNAP-Ed program, which previously supported approximately $700,000 in services across 46 County sites. Through this investment, nonprofit partners will continue to provide residents with access to land, education, and resources critical to community health, food security, equity and climate goals, and food production resilience. The expanded program is expected to reach approximately 4,000 residents and will strive to leverage existing SNAP-Ed materials to sustain programming that has been shown to increase healthy eating and physical activity. 
  • A shift of $150,000 from retail access program funding will enable stable enrollment in MC Groceries that holistically supports families while leveraging complementary investments to ensure continuity of service, maximize nutrition benefits, and facilitate flexible food retail access for Montgomery County families while reducing time and transportation barriers.  
• Shifts to Food as Medicine: The FY27 recommended budget includes a $230,779 reduction to the Food as Medicine program. This decrease can be accommodated by reducing service locations that overlap with offerings through other OFSR programs and strengthening partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other healthcare providers to leverage external funding and align services more closely with clinical care. 

Key Initiatives in FY27: 

• Strengthen the vital connections between our region's food producers and its consumers, businesses, and public institutions by leveraging existing food expenditures to directly support local economies and foster environmental stewardship.  
• Identify and actively pursue external funding sources and partnerships to enhance the impact and sustainability of existing OFSR initiatives.  
• Implement Common Impact Metrics in reporting requirements across grant programs to promote consistency and comparability of outcomes across OFSR initiatives. Metrics on service data, referrals, volunteers, local economic investment, and program financing are collected across all programs, affording a greater ability to identify the level of need and service trends in real time and evaluate program performance.  
• Conduct geographic and demographic gap analyses of Montgomery County food system financial investments and assets. Implement strategies to visualize and communicate available food systems data collected both internally and externally to inform policy decisions and intersectional collaboration.  
• Expand resident and program participant direct feedback and communication mechanisms across programs through year-round client satisfaction surveys, community surveys, resource referral distribution lists, and proactive engagement with community boards, committees, and organizations. 
• Increase alignment and interconnectivity of OFSR's efforts with other local government agencies to amplify impact of investments, connect residents with assistance best suited to their unique needs, and streamline the resource referral process for increased efficiency and effectiveness. 

The County Executive’s Recommended Budget will be reviewed by the Montgomery County Council over the coming months, and the FY27 Operating Budget will be finalized through a County Council vote in May. The OFSR team will present to the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee in mid-April regarding the budget recommendations. Partners are invited to attend the Council session, or watch it live through the Council website. The Council will hold public hearings on the operating budget on April 7th and April 8th at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and April 9th at 1:30 p.m. Residents who want to testify in person or virtually can sign up on the Council’s webpage or by calling 240-777-7802. Additionally, written testimony, as well as prerecorded audio or video testimony, can be submitted through the Council’s webpage. 

For any questions regarding OFSR programs or funding included in the FY27 Recommended Operating Budget, please contact ofsr@montgomerycountymd.gov.