Get your bid in for a slice of the Food Enterprise Fund

The Food Enterprise Fund will support community-led social enterprises and organisations

Oldham Council is launching an ambitious ‘Food Enterprise Fund’ investing up to £135,000 in innovative ideas to transform the local food economy.

The move – part of the Council's Growing Oldham: Feeding Ambition programme – is seeking applications from projects which focus on enterprise opportunities through food and growing and generating income for local communities.

The Food Enterprise Fund will support community-led social enterprises and organisations and bring together residents, communities and organisations working co-operatively to improve fair access to fresh, local, affordable healthy food.

Working in partnership with Action Together, they will manage and administer the funding across three stages - Seed Investment (up to £500), Small Projects Investment (up to £10,000) (and Large Projects Investment (up to £50,000)

Applications for the ‘Seed Investments’ fund went live on ‘World Food Day’ on October 16,  #WFD2018  

Oldham is one of just a handful of places to hold the Sustainable Food Cities Bronze award.

This recognises our co-operative approach in promoting healthy, sustainable and local food, tackling food poverty, diet-related ill-health, creating quality school meals and supporting independent food retailers.

The Food Enterprise Fund will supporting our five key priorities in this area are to: Make it pay – through enterprise, employment, sustainability; Grow More – expanding practical growing and community capacity; Share More through transport, distribution, knowledge, ideas; Learn More via education, skills, working with schools; and Waste Less – reducing food waste levels across the borough.

Cllr Arooj Shah, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods Services, said: “This is a really good opportunity for anyone who wants to generate an income through food and growing – and to invest in their local neighbourhood – to help create healthy and thriving communities in Oldham.

“We’re hoping to see many people come forward to share their inspiring ideas and find out if this funding can help make their plans become a reality.”

This project is supported and funded by the Well North programme which is creating a movement to unleash health communities across the North of England by backing real people and local ideas: www.wellnorth.co.uk/

To find out more about the ‘Food Enterprise Fund’ visit: www.oldhampartnership.org.uk/foodfund/

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