Community Food Hubs Fund
Bringing communities together around food, sharing and skills
From plant-power cooking workshops and community dinners, to grow-your-own gardens and libraries of things, community fridges have grown into essential hubs for sharing and learning.
First launched in 2021, the Community Food Hubs Fund has supported 213 community fridges to become food hubs.
All applicants of the latest round of funding will be notified before the 25th of November.
What do food hubs do?
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Skills
Upskill communities and raise awareness of affordable, healthy and sustainable living. For example cooking workshops for families, single households or anyone and everyone who wants to learn a new skill.
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Sharing
Create opportunities to make the most of what people already own. Think shared libraries of tools, cooking equipment, bikes, baby items etc., repair café events, intergenerational mend and sew lessons.
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Community connection
Create space for the community to come together around shared food. Think community lunches, coffee and chats, and recipe shares.
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Growing
Support community growing and increase the amount of edible food grown and shared locally. Think community gardens, greening projects and seed or plant sharing.
Case studies
Trelya Community Cafe
Trelya in Cornwall used their Community Food Hub funding to host community food workshops. Participants said learning skills such as batch cooking, understanding seasonal produce, and improving knife skills have led to healthier habits at home. One participant described how shopping for one could be overwhelming and how she used to overcook and overeat but the cafe taught her about batch cooking and freezing meals in single portions. This has saved her time and money and helped her maintain a more balanced diet.
Trinity Rooms
Over three months, Trinity Rooms in Stroud ran food preservation classes for 24 people, along with a course on using nettles and cleavers. Participants left the course with new skills in making ferments, chutneys, and jams using surplus locally available produce. Participants enjoyed - you might even say relished - the chance to come together to make food with others, rather than cooking at home alone.
Canolfan Maerdy Food Hub
Canolfan in South Wales have been running community workshops to give locals the opportunity to learn, grow, harvest, prepare, and eat their own food. Three volunteers say their perspectives on food, food production, and waste have changed. They’ve learned the importance of saving, freezing, cooking, budgeting, and eating healthily, which has made them more mindful about food waste. People love to see the produce they've grown going into weekly food boxes.
SAX Community Fridge
The new allotment provides at SAX Community Fridge in Suffolk with vegetables year-round, thanks to the polytunnel. This has become a very popular offering, as the vegetables grown are consistently of high quality. SAX Community Fridge has been able to offer a real variety of salad leaves each session, with people often trying varieties they’ve never seen before. A close-knit community has developed, with experienced members willingly passing on their knowledge to those with less experience.
This fund has been made possible by generous support from the Rothschild Foundation, Co-op, Starbucks Foundation and Starbucks UK.
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