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Local Food Infrastructure Fund now accepting second round of proposals

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has announced a second call for proposals under the Local Food Infrastructure Fund.

The program will support small and large community-led projects at facilities such as urban gardens, community kitchens, food banks, and greenhouses. It provides non-repayable funding for activities such as the construction of greenhouses and garden boxes, the purchase of equipment for the preparation, refrigeration, distribution and storage of food, and vehicle and transport equipment.

This second call for proposals, valued at $43.4 million, will begin accepting applications today for projects valued at up to $250,000.

Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis until funding has been allocated. This second call for proposals could also support a cluster of organizations who are ready to enhance their regional food systems.

The Local Food Infrastructure Fund, a $50 million, five-year program under the Food Policy for Canada, is aimed at community-based, not-for-profit organizations. The program’s goal is to reduce food insecurity by establishing and/or strengthening local food networks in the medium to longer term. Under the first call for proposals of the program, 362 projects received funding of up to $25,000 for a total $6.6 million. This funding supported projects such as the purchase of new refrigerated trucks, kitchen equipment, community gardens, equipment needed to prepare, store and distribute food, and the installation of solar panels and irrigation systems, among others.

In April, the government of Canada also launched a separate, $100-million emergency fund under the program to support national, regional, and local organizations across Canada that are able to reach people and communities experiencing food insecurity and who have been impacted by COVID-19. To date, this emergency funding has supported 1,765 individual projects in communities across Canada that are providing healthy food to Canadians in need.

“Our Government is committed to helping to improve food security for those who need it most. Through the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, we are making meaningful improvements across Canada in support of access to food. I am pleased to launch the second call for proposals of the program, which opens the door to a cluster of organizations who are ready to enhance their regional food systems, and will help recipients continue their great work,” says Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

The application can be accessed here