Government of Canada has announced the second call for proposals under the Local Food Infrastructure Fund.

The Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) is a five-year, $50 million initiative ending March 31, 2024. The program is part of the Government of Canada’s Food Policy which is Canada’s roadmap for a healthier and more sustainable food system in Canada. The LFIF aim is to strengthen food systems and to facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations.

Objectives

The LFIF's objectives are to:

• improve access to safe, healthy and culturally-diverse food while promoting community development
• support local economies
• improve health outcomes for Canadians most at-risk
• promote environmentally sustainable food systems

The fund supports community-based, not-for-profit organizations to improve their food systems through investments in infrastructure that are directly related to addressing food insecurities and increasing the accessibility of healthy, nutritious, and ideally, local foods within their community.

The fund is designed to foster increased connections within food systems by enabling organizations to partner with communities, the private sector, academia and other organizations to collectively strengthen local food systems and address food insecurity in a sustainable manner. Through these connections, community partnerships will be able to foster integrated food system solutions that enhance the social, health, environmental, and economic benefits in a particular area.

Expected Results

• LFIF is expected to strengthen food systems to be resilient, integrated and sustainable, and to facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations.
• As organizations make increased investments in local food infrastructure, their capacity to provide healthy and nutritious food within their community will increase.
• Organizations will be able to provide an improved or more efficient level of service, expanded services, or an increase in the number of service offerings.

Funding Information

Applicants may submit a proposal for a minimum ask of $5,000 to a maximum ask of $250,000.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants are not-for-profit organizations that have been in operation for at least two years as a legal entity capable of entering into a legally-binding agreement. Furthermore, applicants must be able to demonstrate the ability to maintain the proposed operations beyond the funding period.

Eligible applicants consist of:

• community or charitable organizations
• Indigenous groups
• not-for-profit co-operatives

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated and ranked based on their merit and the extent to which they also meet, the following criteria:

• Impact on the community (fills an identified food-related need, number of beneficiaries, etc.)
• Relevance of the project to the local context (food security, access to traditional foods for Indigenous communities, access to fresh and locally-grown food, etc.)
• Mobilization of the community (concrete participation of various partners, financial contributions, etc.)
• Long-term sustainability of the project (how the project will continue to benefit the community after the investment)
• Social innovation, heath promotion or education as it relates to food insecurity (introduces a new way of addressing food security, etc.)

Furthermore, proposals must clearly demonstrate the:

• The need for the requested infrastructure or equipment improvement
• The increased capacity to address food insecurities
• The organization’s ability to achieve the proposed activities beyond the funding period

For more information, visit Call for Proposals.