Community Food Hubs Fund
Supporting local food initiatives
Since 2021, community fridges have been transforming into vibrant spaces for sharing, learning, and connection.
Thanks to the Community Food Hub grant fund, hundreds of projects have taken root— cooking workshops, community dinners, gardens, sharing libraries, and much, much more.
Now the grant fund is returning for two new rounds in May and October. More info to follow soon!
What is the funding for?
- Cooking demos showcasing fruit and veg often left behind at the fridge
- Energy-efficient workshops for families
- Healthy, veg-focused cooking classes for young people
- Smaller groups of cooking skills for young people with SEND
- Weekly community dinners prepared by volunteers
- Community meals and recipe shares from different cultures in the community
- Community cafes with repurposed food from the community fridge
- Transforming the space in and around community fridges into community gardens
- Gardening clubs w/ volunteers sharing their skills
- Boosting local food growing: planters, windowsill, herb walls, alley way boxes
- Clothes renting and sharing schemes especially baby clothes
- Tool shed built by volunteers and free and open to anyone to borrow
- Libraries of things for toys, kitchen and cleaning equipment, bikes etc.
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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