Bristol Local Food Fund Grant

Bristol Local Food Fund

This grant programme is currently closed to applications.

Opening Date:
The next round will open in 2024. The opening date is yet to be confirmed.
Closing Date:
14th November 2022
Maximum grant awarded:
To be confirmed

What is the Bristol Local Food Fund?

Bristol Local Food Fund (BLFF) is a fund to help community food projects fight food insecurity and promote food equality in our city. We want everyone to have access to good quality, affordable, culturally appropriate food regardless of their background or situation.

Bristol Local Food Fund is working in partnership with Feeding Bristol and Quartet Community Foundation. A Citizens Panel, made up of a group of people with experience of food insecurity will be deciding which applications receive the funding, using participatory grant-making.

What can you apply for?

These grants can support charitable and community activities, projects and services that improve or maintain food justice in the City of Bristol.

Food Justice is when everyone has access to nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food, which is grown, produced, sold and consumed in ways that care for people and the environment. The work must support one or more of the five priorities outlined in Bristol’s Food Equality Strategy and Action Plan. These are:

  • Fair, equitable access: We need to ensure that residents can access food that is appropriate for their dietary needs, is culturally appropriate, and affordable..
  • Choice and security: We want to live in a city where everyone can make decisions about their relationship with food and are free from the anxiety and stress of food insecurity.
  • Skills and resources: We want to enable residents to foster a healthy food culture, have confidence in their ability to access and use food to meet their needs, as well as the facilities and fuel to cook with.
  • Sustainable local food system: We want the local food system to prioritise resilience and sustainability in food production, food waste management, distribution, economy, and environmental resilience.
  • Food at the heart of decision-making: We must ensure that food needs and equality are considered in all decision-making – whether developing social support models, new businesses or planning new housing

Grants are otherwise unrestricted. The grant can fund any cost related to the activity, including resources such as ingredients for healthy meals and equipment. It can also fund core activity costs such as rent, staff costs, or volunteer expenses.

Funding priorities?

We will prioritise applications for work that supports people and areas that are most affected by food insecurity, and will take intersectionality into account. These priorities include (but are not limited to):  

People most affected: Single parents, disabled people, people from Black, Asian or minoritised backgrounds, carers, people identifying as LGBTQIA+, and younger people (16-24)

Areas most affected: Hartcliffe & Withywood, Filwood, Lawrence Hill, Southmead, Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston, Lockleaze, Henbury & Brentry, Hillfields, Easton, Ashley, Eastville, St George, Frome Vale, Knowle, and Hengrove and Whitchurch Park. 

Who can apply?

These grants are for not-for-profit organisations and community groups with charitable aims that are working to alleviate food insecurity. Applicants must be based and working in the City of Bristol

Whilst there is no limit to the size of the organisation that can apply, we need to prioritise our funding where it can make the biggest impact. We will take into account the access an applicant has to other sources of funding and whether they are offering something needed in their area.

If your group is a Community Interest Company, please read the additional guidance in the ‘Help and Guidance‘ section on our website.

You can see our ‘Top Tips for Grant Applicants’ video on YouTube. Please see here.

Decision turnaround

To be confirmed.

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