The South King Tool Library is one of seven organizations who recently received Healthy, Resilient and Sustainable Communities grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Awarded by the Region 10 office in Seattle, the first round of the $335,000 supports local pollution prevention and sustainability projects in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
“We are very pleased to announce this first round of regional grants,” said Michelle Pirzadeh, acting Region 10 administrator. “These initial projects showcase a creativity and commitment to pollution prevention and sustainability that will make a lasting difference at the local level.”
Project funding ranged from $30,000 to $60,000 for a two-year funding period. The awardees are expected to kick off their projects this fall.
“For the South King Tool Library (SKTL), the mission to build and foster Healthy, Resilient and Sustainable Communities, resonates to our core,” said Executive Director Amanda Miller. “By sharing tools and training, we partner with our neighbors to make the changes we all want for our communities. To build resiliency, each of us needs to own our contribution, and together invest in improving community health and sustainability. SKTL works toward these goals by leading waste reduction efforts through collective reuse, resource repair, and training that equips participants with DIY tools to do the same.”
Awardees include:
- Our United Villages (ReBuilding Center), providing affordable and accessible salvaged building materials to the public and supply free salvaged building materials in the Portland, Oregon area.
- Ecology Action’s Grocery Challenge, incentivizing pollution prevention practices in grocery stores in the Pacific Northwest.
- Pollution Prevention Resource Center, developing a program to guide businesses in Oregon and Washington through EPA’s Safer Choice labeling program.
- South King County Tool Library, supporting and promoting its community tool library services which include tool loans, reuse and repair of products and materials, and provides pollution prevention outreach and education in Federal Way, Washington.
- Kalispel Indian Community, diverting food waste from the tribally-owned restaurant to a local pork farm that will raise pork to be served at the tribal casino, which will advance the local food system and prevent food waste within the Kalispel Tribe’s lands in Washington state.
- Rolling Tomato, working to reduce food waste and increase access to food for food-insecure communities in the Boise, Idaho area.
- Portland State University, working to reduce food waste through implementation of a pilot program to rescue and distribute city tree fruit to low-income, multifamily properties in historically disadvantaged areas of Portland, Oregon.
