Bristol Local Food Fund awards £113,110 to 19 community food projects working to achieve food justice for all
In 2024, Bristol Local Food Fund delivered our second ever round of funding, with an incredible £110,000 available to distribute between community food projects tackling food insecurity in Bristol.
Thanks in large part to everyone involved in organising and supporting the Anti Banquet event, which raised £100,000 for Bristol Local Food Fund, we were able to make a huge impact on food justice in our city, and help thousands of people who experience food insecurity.Citizens Panel
All decisions on the funding awards were made by our Citizens’ Panel, made up of 6 local people who each have lived experience of food insecurity. This process is known as “participatory grantmaking” where the intended beneficiaries of funding are given decision-making power about where funding is awarded. BLFF uses this approach because we believe it is fundamentally a more equitable and inclusive way of awarding funding, and distributing power to people.
The Panel had their work cut out for them, with a total of 53 organisations applying for the funding, requesting a total of £447,696, highlighting the enormous level of need to tackle food insecurity.
After four lengthy meetings and much consideration, the Panel agreed on 19 community food projects to award funding to, including five projects, such as Sims Hill Shared Harvest - that received funding in our first (previous) round.
Two factors were especially important in the Panel’s decision making process. These were to 1) prioritise particular groups of people and particular areas that experience food insecurity most severely - and 2) ensure a diverse selection of projects - by area, type of project, type of beneficiary, were represented in the funding.
To learn more about the Citizens’ Panel and why we choose to use participatory grantmaking, head over to our recent blog post.
A closer look at some of the grantees
A spotlight on three grantees from our second round of funding, Black Mothers Matter CIC, Redcatch Community Garden, and Bristol Goods - a project delivered by Caring in Bristol.
We are proud to support so many amazing and important projects in this round of funding. The chart below illustrates how the projects we are funding are directly supporting those communities that are most at risk of food insecurity.
Pie chart showing which groups of people BLFF funded projects work with - 45.8% of projects work with People of the Global Ethnic Majority, 12.5% work with young people, 12.5% work with single parents and families, 8.3% work with Disabled People, 4.2% work with LGBTQIA+ people and 16.7% work with other groups.
Here is just a little glimpse of just a few of these amazing projects. A full list of grantees can be found at the end of this post.
Black Mothers Matter is an organisation founded and run by three Black mothers who served as a vital support network to each other during their own perinatal period and wanted to extend that support to others.
Black Mothers Matter envision a world where Black mothers are no longer disproportionately at risk during the period from pregnancy up until the first year after birth. They provide essential support and resources to new Black mothers in Bristol in the form of support boxes, community groups and workshops, a resource library, doula support, and much more.
They received the full £8,000 grant they applied for, and will use the funding to provide healthy, culturally appropriate meals weekly to the 40+ birthing people and 40+ babies who are part of their Bumps N Babies Group. This group meets weekly to share a meal “village style” where they eat together in a circle and share their ‘weekly wins’ as well as their worries, allowing them to all leave physically and emotionally nourished.
Ruby from Black Mothers Matter said: "The support from Bristol Food Fund will allow us to nourish our group of Black Mothers and ensure access to healthy, culturally appropriate food for them and their babies. We are so grateful to have been chosen and really excited to begin making an impact to tackle food injustice and insecurity for our community.”
Redcatch Community Garden, based in Knowle, brings the local community together, fostering connection through learning, socialising and skill sharing. They aim to promote good health and mental wellbeing, and empower community members to reach their full potential.
Redcatch Community Garden launched in 2017 when a group of volunteers came together to transform an unused bowling green into the thriving community food project that it is today. Today, they put on various inclusive events and workshops which include art therapy, happymess (art sessions for kids that promote “messy play”), street food pop-up events, gardening sessions, exercise classes, and more.
Redcatch Community Garden also received the full £6,494 grant they applied for, with which they will provide 20 community lunch sessions at the garden for young people with Special Educational Need and disabilities (SEND) or who are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
In these sessions the young people will grow, harvest and cook food, eating the food alongside community members who are struggling with the cost of living crisis and health inequality. The grant will cover the costs of food ingredients, chef and staff time, and therapeutic support, which provides critical therapeutic and safeguarding support to both participants and lunch attendees. The project aims to not only address immediate food needs within the community but also instil a sense of belonging in these young people, empowering them with the skills and confidence to support their community. Recatch represents one of the 74% of our grantees which are providing forms of education and training.
Heather Peet, Engagement Lead at Redcatch Community Garden, said: “It is fantastic to have support from Bristol Local Food Fund to enable us to keep momentum on our Tuesday gardening and community lunch project. An idea that has been led by young people who attend our morning gardening session, where they then helped to set up for our community lunch, can now be developed to support even more members of the community as a result of this funding. We cannot wait to see where it takes us."
Infographics showing what types of projects are being funded. 89% of funded projects are providing nutritious food, 79% are strengthening community & reducing isolation, 74% are providing education or training and 37% are providing access to culturally appropriate food.
Caring in Bristol is a charity working to create a city that’s empowered to solve homelessness, bridging service gaps to deliver vital projects across the city. Caring in Bristol puts community at the heart of its work, involving the people they support in designing and developing their services at every level. In Hartcliffe and Withywood, Caring in Bristol delivers a food-led service called Bristol Goods, for individuals at risk of experiencing homelessness.
As shown by the graph below Withywood is one of the wards in Bristol with the highest average % of households experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity. Many of the projects funded in this round of grants are working in these areas experiencing high % of households experiencing food insecurity.
Bar graph showing the wards where BLFF funded projects are located, as well as the percentage of households in these areas experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity. In Withywood the percentage of households experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity is around 19% and the percentage of BLFF projects is around 10%. In Filwood the percentages are around 12% and 15% respectively, in Ashley they are around 11% and 26%, in Lockleaze around 11% and 10%, and in Avonmouth around 11% and 5%.
For a small fee of £3.50 or less, Bristol Goods enables their members to buy healthy food at an affordable price, allowing their weekly budget to stretch a lot further, and removing the stigma of going to a food bank. Hartcliffe and Withywood has fewer supermarkets on average than other areas of Bristol, making access to fresh fruit and veg and affordable food limited.
Caring in Bristol reported an increase in attendance since the Bristol Goods began in 2021, highlighting the importance of their work. Though they were not awarded the full £10,000 requested, instead receiving £4,000, they plan to use this money to supply extra food, increase the variety of foods offered, order fresh halal meat and support the logistics of the project.
One of the project beneficiaries said: "The Bristol Goods project has helped us by giving us access to affordable food, which we would otherwise go without. The volunteers are very appreciated because it couldn’t be done without them. Everyone is friendly, there is a nice atmosphere. There are snacks to have with a tea or coffee. I know a lot of people who are very glad it is on."
What’s next for BLFF?
These projects really highlight the importance of funds like this and pushes us to keep doing the work we are doing. That’s why for our newest fundraising campaign, we set the ambitious goal of raising £150,000 for community food projects, so that we can continue to provide even more of the crucial funding needed in Bristol.
Thanks to our partners
As a voluntary project, Bristol Local Food Fund works closely with both Quartet Community Foundation and Feeding Bristol, registered charitable organisations that hold donations and distribute funds on behalf of BLFF, and we couldn’t do this without them!
Become a supporter!
To help us reach our fundraising goal and to help support food justice in our communities, become a regular supporter of Bristol Local Food Fund, just follow this link.
We are incredibly proud to play a part in so many incredible organisations’ stories, and we look forward to keeping you in the loop on all the new projects happening all around Bristol and sharing exciting news along the way. To keep updated, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media. We’ll be sharing stories of progress from some of the amazing grantees in videos and blogs in the coming months.
Congratulations and good luck to all the grantees, — together we will make Bristol a city of food justice!
Funding Round 2 - full list of grant awards
Grantee name: All Saints Parish Church
Funding awarded: £3,000
Based in: Eastville
Project delivery area: Eastville
Summary: Toward a school holiday cooking programme for low-income families.
Grantee name: Black Mothers Matter CIC
Funding awarded: £8,000
Based in: Lawrence Hill
Project delivery area: Easton, Lawrence Hill, Ashley', Knowle, Southmead, Central, Eastville, Lawrence Weston
Summary: Toward the Bumps N Babies Group that provides regular, free, nutritious and culturally appropriate hot lunches and food packages, promoting health, wellbeing, conversations and food equity in the community.
Grantee name: Borderlands
Funding awarded: £7,500
Based in: Lawrence Hill
Project delivery area: Central, Ashley, Easton, Eastville, Lawrence Hill, St George, Lockleaze, Southville, Southmead
Summary: Toward hot meals, a social supermarket and cooking groups where asylum seekers and refugees can choose nutritious and culturally appropriate food, and cook and eat together.
Grantee name: Bristol Horn Youth Concern (BHYC)
Funding awarded: £8,000
Based in: Ashley
Project delivery area: Ashley Ward, St Pauls, St Jude's and Inner City East Bristol
Summary: To provide increased access to quality, affordable and culturally appropriate food for the residents of St Pauls, Ashley Ward and Inner City East Bristol.
Grantee name: Bristol North West Foodbank
Funding awarded: £4,000
Based in: Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston
Project delivery area: Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston
Summary: To run more cookery and budgeting courses in Lawrence Weston and Avonmouth & buy halal meat for the group's food parcels.
Grantee name: Bristol Somali Youth Voice
Funding awarded: £8,980
Based in: Easton
Project delivery area: Lawrence hill, Easton, Ashley, Eastville and Frome Vale
Summary: To organise community gatherings and provide a hot meal for communities from low-income backgrounds that will improve their understanding of healthy eating and budgeting.
Grantee name: Caring in Bristol
Funding awarded: £5,000
Based in: Hartcliffe and Withywood
Project delivery area: Hartcliffe, Hengrove and Withywood
Summary: To support the expansion of Bristol Goods Clubs, a food-led service for individuals at risk of homelessness.
Grantee name: Heart of BS13
Funding awarded: £5,000
Based in: Hartcliffe and Withywood
Project delivery area: Hartcliffe & Withywood
Summary: To support the group's food insecurity and nutrition programme in BS13, which includes a Mobile Affordable Food Shop, Slow Cooker Club, Community Freezer, and Outdoor Kitchen/Growing Space.
Grantee name: Hillfields Community Garden
Funding awarded: £4,000
Based in: Hillfields
Project delivery area: Hillfields
Summary: Toward the group's community cooking space activities centred around healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate meals that are seasonal and support nature. The activities will allow people to develop new skills and build community.
Grantee name: Incredible Kids
Funding awarded: £8,000
Based in: Lockleaze
Project delivery area: Bristol
Summary: To provide disabled and/or neurodiverse attendees of the group's Friday sessions with a nutritious meal and/or send families home with a food parcel and educate young people about nutrition.
Grantee name: Inns Court Community Centre (The Mede)
Funding awarded: £4,000
Based in: Inns Court (Filwood)
Project delivery area: Knowle-Filwood
Summary: A project to help the group's community cafe be more affordable and more accessible for residents in the Filwood area.
Grantee name: Knowle West Media Centre
Funding awarded: £5,000
Based in: Filwood
Project delivery area: Filwood
Summary: To provide quality food for adults, families and young people within the existing KWMC Creative Programmes in the form of food hubs.
Grantee name: Project Mama
Funding awarded: £7,500
Based in: Lawrence Hill
Project delivery area: Bristol
Summary: For a weekly community group where migrant parents, and their babies, can enjoy mutual support and share a nutritious home-cooked meal.
Grantee name: Redcatch Community Garden
Funding awarded: £6,494
Based in: Knowle
Project delivery area: Knowle and Filwood
Summary: To combine the group's Community Lunch and their special educational needs work experience offering so that the young people they support can grow, harvest, cook, serve and enjoy a Community Lunch, providing belonging and empowerment.
Grantee name: Sims Hill Shared Harvest
Funding awarded: £5,000
Based in: Lawrence Hill, Southmead, Lockleaze, Easton, Ashley Down, Eastville, St George, Frome Vale
Project delivery area: Frome Vale
Summary: To provide land access and deliver horticultural sessions to those affected by the asylum process; sharing knowledge, reducing isolation, promoting leadership and collaboration, and enhancing food security and environmental awareness.
Grantee name: St Luke's Church
Funding awarded: £5,736
Based in: Lawrence Hill
Project delivery area: Lawrence Hill
Summary: To support low-income families living in Barton Hill with a choice of fresh ingredients through the group's free family food shop.
Grantee name: Travelling Kitchen CIC
Funding awarded: £4,000
Based in: Southmead
Project delivery area: Southmead
Summary: For a series of monthly Community Cook Ups in three settings in Southmead where residents can batch cook meals and access fresh ingredients to take away and share as a cooked lunch.
Grantee name: Wellspring Settlement
Funding awarded: £9,900
Based in: Lawrence Hill
Project delivery area: Lawrence Hill
Summary: To continue the group's community food offer which includes a pay-as-you-feel café, weekly food club, cooking class and growing project.
Grantee name: Windmill Hill City Farm
Funding awarded: £4,000
Based in: Southville
Project delivery area: Bedminster, Redcliffe, Windmill Hill, Knowle, Southville
Summary: To continue a weekly supper club offering parents/carers and children from families experiencing food insecurity a nutritious meal, prepared together and engaging farm-based activities.
