Grants are available for not-for-profit organisations in the UK who are working in partnerships to support projects that strengthen the food system and reduce food insecurity for people and communities within the UK.
The new round of the Climate Action Fund is designed to support long-term positive change in UK food systems. This is large-scale, long-term funding designed to support systems change.
The new fund fits with the National Lottery Community Fund’s 2023-2030 strategy ‘It starts with community‘. The NLCF plans to distribute at least £4 billion of funding by 2030, supporting projects that will create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
Objectives of Fund
Funding is intended to support ambitious, long-term projects that strengthen food systems, tackle the root causes of food insecurity and work with nature to create lasting change.
Projects must work towards systems change in the way that:
- Community organisations grow and produce food – using agroecological methods
- Food gets distributed – aiming for equitable access to healthy, affordable food for all
- Offers people and communities different food options – especially those experiencing poverty, disadvantage or discrimination.
The funding is for work that leads to transformational change (the kind that lasts, not just short-term support) and ways to do this include:
- Addressing the root cause of long-term problems, not just the symptoms
- Helping prevent problems before they happen
- Changing rules, habits or ways of working
- Giving communities more control over decisions and resources
- Helping people and organisations work together differently
- Challenging what is seen as important or possible
- Developing a project that is scalable or could work elsewhere
Grants of between £2.5 million and £7 million are available for projects running between five and seven years.
Most projects funded will:
- Receive between £3 million and £5 million
- Run for between five and seven years
Up to 10 projects are likely to be funded in the first year of the programme.
Applications must be made as part of a partnership.
To be eligible, organisations must:
- Work in a partnership
- Make a lasting impact on climate change, the environment and nature
- Significantly increase access to healthy, affordable food – especially for those experiencing poverty, disadvantage or discrimination
- Have firm plans to measure the impact of their work
- Have firm plans to tell the story of their project to inspire others
- Show how they will meaningfully involve communities and organisations representing communities in their project
All organisations in the partnership must be one of the following:
- Registered charity
- Company limited by guarantee (with a not-for-profit clause or registered as a charity) with an asset lock
- Community interest company (CIC) with an asset lock
- Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
- Scottish charitable incorporated organisation (SCIO)
- Community benefit society with an asset lock
- Co-operative society (with a not-for-profit clause and registered with the Financial Conduct Authority) with an asset lock
- Public body (such as a local authority, town, parish or community council)
- School, college or university – as long as the project benefits the wider local community
The partnership can be:
- Local, regional or national
- Based in one of the UK countries, or working in more than one UK country
- New or already established
Partnerships should:
- Involve the communities they work with in the design and delivery of the project
- Ensure equitable access to project funding and resources
- Consider capacity building and good governance
- Share what they learn across the sector and with other projects NLCF fund
- Work across different sectors
- Include expertise in areas like food systems and agroecology, climate, environment, nature, communications, learning and evaluation, and community representation.
Partnerships that include private sector partners who provide match funding or pro bono support are also welcome as this support should strengthen their project and help increase its impact.
The funding can be used for:
- Staff costs, including sessional workers.
- Costs that help support communities and smaller partner organisations.
- Anything that supports effective partnership working – like costs for partnership meetings, administration and management.
- Organisational development such as staff training, improving governance, upgrading IT or sharing learning.
- Transport.
- Utilities and running costs.
- Volunteer expenses.
- Learning and evaluation.
- Equipment.
- Translation or interpretation costs, for example to deliver the project in Welsh.
- Contributions to overheads – though these should be proportionate to the project request.
- Some capital costs (For example, land purchase or leasing, restoring land and land investigations that increase accessibility and costs for equipment and tools.
Full details are available on the National Lottery Community Fund website.
The first step in the application process is to send an email to NLCF to arrange a conversation about the project idea.
NLCF will hold a webinar on 17 February 2026 (13:00 to 14:15). Spaces are limited to one place per organisation. Registration is required and can be done via the NLCF website
Contact the National Lottery Community Fund for further information.