05 Oct 2026
DEFRA has announced almost £10 million in funding to help 45 communities across England improve access to healthy, affordable food.
Each recipient local authority will receive £222,000 to develop projects suited to local needs. Councils were selected on the basis of deprivation and childhood obesity levels.
The funding could support community food shops, mobile greengrocers, lunch clubs and community kitchens, alongside cooking and nutrition programmes. It could also help councils improve their planning for local food needs.
Recipient councils include Bassetlaw, Boston, Fenland, North Lincolnshire and South Holland.
Defra says the investment responds to figures showing that 9% of people lived in food-insecure households in 2024/25.
The programme will also work with businesses, charities and philanthropic organisations to build on existing community projects and attract additional funding.
The announcement, published on 30 September, forms part of the Government’s Good Food Cycle programme.
