Deadline: 29-Nov-22
The Food Security Challenge Prize in Oldham offers start-up and scale-up grants and mentoring for new or scaling food enterprises that are developing the most effective responses to local food insecurity and focus on long-term change, social impact, and increasing employment in the local food sector.
This Challenge Prize offers a package of grant support and mentoring to new or existing community-led food enterprises that are transforming the local food system.
Recognising the importance of food as an economic, public health, and cultural issue, they’re looking for ideas that use community-led business models to increase local food through enterprises, such as:
- Food co-operatives
- Community supported agriculture
- Community cafes
Those applying to the Challenge Prize could be:
- Local groups with a new enterprise idea,
- An established organisation that is developing a new service,
- Local partners building new infrastructure for the food system.
Funding Information
- Local groups and enterprises can apply for either a start-up award – offering three grants of £2,500, £5,000, and £7,500 – or a scale-up grant, offering three grants of £10,000, £12,500, and £15,000.
Who’s it for?
- Community groups with a new enterprise idea
- Established organisations that are developing new services
- Local partners building new infrastructure for the food system.
How does it work?
- Stage One
- Download the info pack
- Read the challenge statement & eligibility criteria
- Apply before 29 November 2022
- Six successful applicants will be notified by 10 December 2022
- Stage Two
- Join a pitch training workshop in January
- Develop a four-minute pitch about your idea
- Pitch at participatory funding event on 2 February 2023
- Take home your award, as decided by the crowd at the event
- Get connected to local mentors and other support.
Eligibility Criteria
- Your new or development enterprise idea responds directly to relieving food poverty
- Your new or development enterprise idea can be a viable business
- Your new or development enterprise idea aims to create employment in the food sector
- Your new or development enterprise idea is ‘community-led’ either through legal membership (e.g. as a co-operative or community business), or through close partnerships with local charities and community associations
- You are a co-operative, community benefit society, CIC, charity, company ltd by guarantee, or an unincorporated groups with a mission statement.
What they can / cannot fund
- They can fund applications from single organisations
- They can fund joint applications through a local partnership
- They can fund revenue or capital costs
- They will not fund core running costs, only specific project costs
- They will only fund incremental activity i.e. a new enterprise or service
- They will fund salaries (which must be set a the living wage)
- All activity must be delivered in the Oldham area to benefit people who live there
- They will fund consultancy costs if relevant to business start/scale-up
For more information, visit https://www.stirtoaction.com/food-security-challenge
