Austin News

Austin-based nonprofit Mobile Loaves & Fishes has received a $750,000 grant from Frost Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas to fund affordable housing projects. Primarily, the donation will be allocated to completing the second phase of homes built within the Community First! Village in Northeast Austin. 

The homes that will benefit from the grant are intended to provide housing for unsheltered individuals in the area. The expansion of the 310-unit community will prioritize kitchens, laundry locations, and shower and restroom facilities. The expansion is slated to be finished late this year 

Praising the organization and celebrating the grant, Austin City Councilwoman Ann Kitchen tweeted out: "Austin needs more of this! More homes for people living unsheltered."

Mobile Loaves & Fishes was founded in 1998 as a social outreach ministry and has been working with the homeless population ever since. The organization showed gratitude for the grant, and said that the funds will help to ensure that shelters are provided for those who are struggling in the area. 

“As a nonprofit organization, Mobile Loaves & Fishes relies on contributions and donations for construction projects and ongoing operations,” Amber Fogarty, president of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, said. “Without the subsidy, the project would have been delayed or could have been reduced in size, limiting our impact on Austin’s homeless population.”

The grant was provided by in conjunction. Frost Bank has a track record of helping the organization and other worthy causes. 

“Frost Bank has used the AHP many times to provide much-needed funding to organizations like Mobile Loaves & Fishes that are working to create tremendous impacts in communities such as Austin,” Donna Normandin, Frost's senior vice president and CRA officer, said.