The first City Funds grants awarded to projects in March 2020 under the No Child Goes Hungry funding priority illustrate City Funds approach to system change in Bristol.
Our first grant programme received £250,000 worth of applications. Three of the six grants awarded, worth £10 000 each, were targeting the Knowle West neighbourhood, ranked among the 10% most deprived areas in England. The synergies among the three projects drove the grant panel’s decisions:
- The first project intends to design a strategic Action Plan with residents and local food initiatives to build resilience to food poverty in the area. By developing a collective voice, they aim to create a mutually supportive environment, share knowledge and resources, and increase their impact.
- The second project aims to transform the food culture and practice in school and at home, thanks to cooking lessons in the local primary school, and family food workshops with parents and teachers. A set of best practices will be consolidated to disseminate the project to other schools in the city.
- The third project is testing the concept of a Food Leader programme in connection with the former initiative. This six-week training course aims to upskill individuals to become leaders in local communities, so they can propagate learning and cooking skills, teach others to cook easy, low-cost meals, and set up food-based initiatives. This will ultimately enrol up to 200 people a year and produce videos for a YouTube channel.