The National Allotment Gardens Trust is a consortium member of Local Food. 
Managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) and 15 consortium members, on behalf of the BIG Lottery Fund, Local Food is a £50 million programme that will
distribute grants to a variety of food-related projects to help make locally grown food
accessible and affordable to local communities. 

Communities will benefit from improved health and well-being through exercise and better nutrition; strengthened local economies through the creation of social enterprises; and more sustainability through the better use of resources such as food redistribution and composting.

What is Local Food?
Local Food is a £50 million programme that will distribute grants to a variety of
food-related projects to help make locally grown food accessible and affordable to local communities.  Communities will benefit from improved health and well-being through exercise and better nutrition; strengthened local economies through the creation of social enterprises; and more sustainability through the better use of resources such as food
redistribution and composting.

Local Food has five themes:
1. Enable communities to manage land sustainably for growing food locally.
2. Enable communities to build knowledge and understanding and to celebrate the
cultural diversity of food.
3. Stimulate local economic activity and the development of community enterprises
concerned with growing, processing and marketing of local food.
4. Create opportunities for learning and the development of skills through voluntary training and job creation.
5. Promote awareness and understanding of the links between food and healthy lifestyles.

Where's the money coming from?
The money is coming from the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme.

What is Changing Spaces?
Changing Spaces is the Big Lottery Fund's programme to help communities enjoy and improve their local environments.  Local Food forms part of the Changing Spaces
programme.

Who's managing Local Food?
RSWT has been appointed as the award partner for Local Food and will be managing the scheme with the assistance of 15 consortium members.

What kind of projects will it fund?
We will be looking to support projects that fit under our five themes.  Projects could
include growing, processing, marketing and distributing local food; composting and
raising awareness of the benefits of such activities.

Who can apply?
Not for profit community groups and organisations in England.

How much can I apply for?
Local Food will offer three levels of funding

Small Grants - £2,000 to £10,000
Main Grants - £10,001 to £300,000
Beacon Grants - £300,001 to £500,000

For how long will Local Food run?
All funded projects must be completed by March 2014.

When can I apply?
The fund will be open to applications in January 2008.  Please keep an eye on our
website www.localfoodgrants.org for regular updates.  In the meantime, we strongly
recommend that you start to develop your project idea.

Will there be anyone to help me?
There will be advisers based around the country that will be on hand throughout the
duration of your project.  More details will be posted on our website when this service becomes available.

When will application packs be available? Where can I get them from?
The fund opens to applications in January 2008.  Application packs will be available from a dedicated call centre.  The contact telephone number will be posted on our
website nearer the time.

How do I find out the latest information on Local Food?
Keep an eye on the website. The site will be kept up-to-date with the latest information. 
To receive an outline of Local Food, list of FAQs, please e-mail your full contact details.

Please note that we cannot answer specific questions about your project at this time.

Local Food Consortium Members

Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts
Black Environment Network
BTCV
Community Composting Network
FareShare
Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens
FoodLinks UK
Greenspace
Garden Organic
Groundwork UK
Learning through Landscapes
National Allotment Gardens Trust
Permaculture Association
Soil Association
Sustain
Thrive