Local Food Infrastructure Fund – Funding for NPOs to support local food systems

Your not-for-profit organization could get funding to improve access to safe, healthy and culturally-diverse food and to promote environmentally sustainable food systems while supporting local communities.

Money

  • Minimum: $5,000
  • Maximum: $250,000

Status

  • Accepting project proposals
  • Closing on December 31, 2023

We can help with your strategy & submission: info@thesectorinc.ca

What this program offers

The Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) is a five-year, $50 million initiative ending March 31, 2024. The program is part of the Government of Canada’s Food Policy which is Canada’s roadmap for a healthier and more sustainable food system in Canada. The LFIF objective is to strengthen food systems and to facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations.

The LFIF’s objectives are to:

improve access to safe, healthy and culturally-diverse food while promoting community development

support local economies

  • improve health outcomes for Canadians most at-risk
  • promote environmentally sustainable food systems

The fund supports community-based, not-for-profit organizations to improve their food systems through investments in infrastructure that are directly related to addressing food insecurities and increasing the accessibility of healthy, nutritious, and ideally, local foods within their community.

Eligible applicants

Eligible applicants are not-for-profit organizations that have been in operation for at least two years as a legal entity capable of entering into a legally-binding agreement. Furthermore, applicants must be able to demonstrate the ability to maintain the proposed operations beyond the funding period.

Eligible applicants consist of:

  • community or charitable organizations
  • Indigenous groups
  • not-for-profit co-operatives

Eligible projects

Projects should be mostly infrastructure specific, community-driven and dedicated to improving access to safe and healthy foods for Canadians at risk of food insecurity. The risk factors and prevalence of food insecurity vary from community to community and can impact Canadians in both rural and urban environments through a lack of access to affordable and nutritious food choices.

For the purpose of this fund, Canadians at risk of food insecurities are part of one of the following groups:

  • Indigenous
  • Persons who are homeless or street-involved
  • Low income households
  • Isolated and rural communities
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Other groups with social or employment barriers including literacy and numeracy
  • Newcomers to Canada (including refugees)
  • Visible minorities
  • Women
  • Youth
  • Seniors
  • LGBTQ2 community
  • Official language minority communities
  • Other (please specify)

Eligible projects can range from simpler infrastructure requests such as purchasing a refrigerator for a food bank to more complex requests that strengthen local food systems, such as projects that integrate multiple areas of the value chain through the creation of partnerships. The applicant must demonstrate how their project will be integrated into and strengthen the local food system and how it will impact the well-being of community members.

We can help with your strategy & submission: info@thesectorinc.ca

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