CHENEY – As the deadline for Resiliency Grants applications offered by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) passes, Cheney is pursuing a unique approach to bolstering its community resilience efforts.
In an exclusive interview with Brett Lucas, Cheney’s strategy became clear: the city is not directly applying for a resiliency grant through WSDA. Instead, it is backing Spokane County’s application, which focuses on climate resiliency.
Lucas elaborated, “What we’re doing is we’re backing Spokane County to do a climate resiliency grant application, and we’re going to take that element and morph that into something for Cheney.”
Spokane County leads the grant application process, with other municipalities pursuing their own initiatives. The county conducts research and collaborates with consultants to develop a model addressing challenges such as wildfires, water protection, and climate resilience. Cheney intends to adapt approximately 20% of the model to better suit local needs, considering factors like a growing population and limited water resources.
However, while Cheney’s focus shifts towards enhancing its resilience, concerns about food insecurity persist. Duane Isaacs, the Director of Cheney Cupboard, shed light on the issue. Isaacs disclosed, “We didn’t apply for it this year, the deadline was actually on April 30.”
Isaacs revealed the statistics on poverty and food insecurity, stating, “We see roughly 1,000 – 1,100 people a month there’s roughly 33% of people in Cheney are below the level of poverty. So roughly 4,000 people are below the poverty level.”
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