<p>Bargersville residents impacted by the coronavirus pandemic have a new avenue for support with a $100,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Rural and Community Affairs.</p><p>The grant, which was awarded to the town of Bargersville and Bargersville Main Street, will provide a food delivery service for elderly, quarantined and unemployed residents, said Julie Young, town manager.</p><p>“We know it is not going to be a quick turnaround in this response (to coronavirus),” Young said. “So having the opportunity to provide any help that we can is something the town wanted to do.”</p><p>Details for the delivery service are still being ironed out, but the town has identified a likely supplier, Young said. The service will connect residents with food staples like proteins, fruits, vegetables, dairy and eggs, she said.</p><p>“I’m really grateful for the opportunity that OCRA has provided us to help residents. I’m really excited to get this program started,” Young said.</p><p>The grant stipulates that the town submits a plan that can be enacted immediately or within three months, according to OCRA.</p><p>Bargersville would like to start distributing food as soon as possible, Young said.</p><p>“We will be sending out more information soon,” Young said.</p><p>Bargersville is one of 13 Indiana communities that were chosen in the first grant cycle for the new COVID-19 Response Program grant from OCRA, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch said Wednesday.</p><p>The grants awarded to the communities totaled $1.96 million, funding a variety of projects such as installing WiFi hotspots, expanding COVID-19 testing and providing services to isolated residents, according to a news release detailing the grants.</p><p>The money for this grant was re-allocated for coronavirus relief from existing OCRA grant dollars by Executive Order 20-05, which Gov. Eric Holcomb issued in March based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.</p><p>Bargersville, a town of about 8,000 residents, was chosen from a pool of 108 communities that submitted Letters of Need to the state, the news release said.</p><p>New applications are not being considered, but more grants will be awarded on a rolling basis, according to OCRA.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="How to help" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>If you need assistance or want to donate supplies or volunteer, email <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
