Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Federal funds freeze felt at Okanogan County nonprofit

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OKANOGAN – The sweeping executive order signed by President Donald Trump freezing federal grants and loans effective Tue. Jan 28, is being felt in the other Washington and closer to home in Okanogan County.

Among others affected is the Okanogan County Community Action Committee (OCCAC), which learned last month from U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell that it would receive $20 million in EPA climate resiliency funds.

The funds are earmarked to support two microgrid community resilience hubs “to help protect communities in rural Eastern Washington from pollution and severe weather events while expanding climate resiliency programs and education,” according to a Dec. 12 media release from Murray’s office. Per the Murray media release, those hubs are:

  • “The Center” in Omak to serve as a disaster relief center during extreme heat, wildfire, and flooding events—which occur in the county nearly every year. Otherwise, the hub be a one-stop shop for social services that help address the needs of vulnerable residents. It will provide workforce training for energy conservation and house a weatherization shop that will help ramp up local home weatherization efforts and expand residential solar, It will also provide a construction training program to aid the county in rehabilitating aging homes and ensuring the health and safety of vulnerable residents, including older adults and people with disabilities.
  • “The Food Hub” will house Okanogan County’s food bank and distribution center, which supports nine food pantries across the country. The food bank provides food assistance to 11,000 county residents annually. The project will feature solar panels, batteries, and ventilation for temperature control. It will also include a new market-style pantry for the Okanogan Food Pantry, which will reduce food waste and improve the experience of approximately 300 people relying on the pantry weekly.

Murray (D-WA), serves as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Cantwell (D-WA) chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The media release said the money is part of nearly $40 million divided between the OCCAC and the Yakama Nation.

When contacted by The Quad City Herald earlier this month, OCCAC Executive Director Rena Shawver said that while the announcement represents the largest single grant her nonprofit has ever received, the actual arrival of funds was still pending—contacted again on Tues. Jan. 28, Shawver said the federal freeze leaves matters in some confusion awaiting further developments.

Later the same day the freeze was to take effect, a D.C. federal judge blocked the President’s order ruling that the courts need more time to consider the fallout of his order. Further actions will undoubtedly be forthcoming in the coming days.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media

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