Lancashire Community Food Grant Scheme 2022-23 summary

In 2022/23 there were two rounds of funding for the Lancashire Community Food Grant Scheme. The first round took place in September 2022, in which 96 applications were received, of which 45 were approved, with applicants receiving a total of £121,856. The second round of funding was held in January 2023, with 85 applications received.  The grants panel approved 52 of the applications, awarding £138,164 to the successful applicants.

In total, during 2022/23, the Lancashire Community Food Grant Scheme received 181 applications, of which 97 were successful, with total funding of £260,020 being awarded.

The breakdown of the number of projects funded through the Lancashire Community Food Grant Scheme in 2022/23 by type of expenditure is shown below, along with examples from 2022/23 funded projects for each expenditure type.  Please note that a single project can include multiple types of expenditure.

• Food – 90 projects.  Example of expenditure include food for food parcels, food for community groceries and food clubs, food to be used in preparing meals, and food to be used in training courses such as healthy eating and cooking skills.  The food purchased includes frozen food, ambient foods, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, and culturally appropriate food.
• Equipment – 47 projects.  This includes large scale equipment such as fridges, freezers, cookers, ovens and microwaves, but also includes the purchase of tables, storage equipment, shelving and equipment for food preparation.
• Volunteer expenses – 34 projects.  Examples include costs incurred by volunteers in delivering and transporting food, both in transporting food to the projects and delivering food to service users.
• Resilience building – 33 projects. Expenditure incurred in putting on resilience building activities for service users and includes facilitator costs for training courses such as food growing, healthy eating, cooking skills and cooking on a budget.
• Organisational staff costs – 31 projects. Include contributions towards staff costs of project co-ordinators and administrators.
• Venue hire – 29 projects.  Examples include the hire of premises for the storage, preparation or delivery of food, as well as contributions towards energy bills and utility costs.
• Training – 18 projects. Includes training for staff and volunteers. Examples include food hygiene, food safety training and upskilling volunteers.