Governor Moore Announces Fiscal Year 2027 Application Round for NourishMD Grant Program
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore today announced that the Fiscal Year 2027 application round for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s NourishMD Grant Program will open on September 22, 2026. NourishMD will provide approximately $3.67 million in grants to support the development, stabilization, and expansion of retail outlets that provide fresh food in Maryland’s food deserts – areas where residents have limited or no access to nutritious food options.
“Where you live should not limit your ability to put fresh and nutritious foods on the table,” said Gov. Moore. “Thanks to the NourishMD program, our administration is tackling food insecurity by delivering food to the communities that need it the most, while addressing nutritional gaps and childhood hunger and ensuring no one is left behind.”
The NourishMD Grant Program provides eligible food retailers with grants between $25,000 and $150,000 for capital-related needs such as infrastructure and technology, facility upgrades, and equipment purchases. Eligible food retail businesses must be located in an area with a Fresh Food Gap Score of 65% or higher as provided by the Maryland Community Compass, an initiative of the Governor’s Innovation Team. In the program’s pilot round, retailers were awarded a combined $3.64 million in grants to expand fresh and healthy food access in target communities.
To maximize efficiency and provide targeted technical assistance, the Fiscal Year 2027 NourishMD Grant Program application is split into two distinct phases. Interested businesses must first submit an eligibility application to verify baseline eligibility and measure community need. Eligible approved applicants will proceed to the comprehensive project application phase, where they will submit a full application to be considered for funding. Awards will be provided on a competitive basis, with special focus given to applicants in Sustainable Communities, Just Communities or communities where poverty is highly concentrated as demonstrated by ENOUGH Initiative eligibility. Eligibility applications are due by November 2, 2026.
“Whether the cause is disinvestment, distance, or disrepair, too many Maryland neighborhoods and communities are impacted by lack of access to varied and nutritional food choices,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. “NourishMD supports businesses and nonprofit organizations seeking to create oases within food deserts that provide both quality in product and equality in access.”
The NourishMD Grant Program is supported by a partnership with the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Maryland Market Money Program (MMM). The MMM program provides a dollar-for-dollar match for purchases made using federal nutrition benefits at participating Maryland farmers markets, farm stands, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) while providing technical assistance, training, marketing, and additional services to stakeholders.
“The successful first round of NourishMD grants showed what is possible when we invest in stronger local food systems and better access to fresh, nutritious food,” said Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks. “Building on that momentum, our continued partnership through Maryland Market Money will help stretch families’ food dollars, strengthen connections with local farmers and producers, and ensure more Maryland communities have access to the healthy food they deserve.”
The NourishMD Grant Program awards are supported by $1.67 million through Maryland’s Rural Health Transformation Program, a Maryland Department of Health initiative to deploy federal funds to improve health outcomes in rural areas across the state. The Rural Health Transformation Program funding will ensure rural Maryland communities have equitable access to NourishMD grants and enhance the Moore-Miller Administration’s efforts to bolster health care opportunities and affordability in Maryland’s rural communities.
"Improving health outcomes begins with the food on our tables, and NourishMD is a vital tool in that mission," said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dr. Meena Seshamani. "Investing in food access breaks down barriers to nutrition in our rural communities. We are not only funding infrastructure; we are fostering a healthier, more equitable future in which access to fresh food is a reality for every Marylander, regardless of where they live."
To learn more about eligibility and to apply for the NourishMD Grant Program, visit the Department’s website.
[The Maryland Rural Health Transformation Program is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $168,180,837.61 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.]
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