Mobile Loaves & Fishes gets $750,000 grant

Mobile Loaves & Fishes has received a $750,000 award for affordable housing projects that will help fund the construction of the second phase of homes at the Community First! Village in Northeast Austin. The award was given to the group by Frost Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, and it will be used to help fund a planned 310-unit expansion of the housing project that was created to shelter the chronically homeless in Austin. The expansion will include additional kitchen buildings and seven laundry, shower and restroom facilities, with completion expected in late 2023. Community First! is considered one of the most successful efforts in Austin to address the city’s growing homeless population. Last year it gained national attention when a half-dozen new homes were provided by the housing startup ICON, which uses 3D-printing technology to fabricate homes more affordably.