Food Secure Communities funding rounds
MSD’s Food Secure Communities programme was established in 2020. This programme has invested in a wide range of community food providers, community food infrastructure, and approaches to increasing food security through grant funding rounds.
Due to the targeted nature of current funding, the Food Secure Communities team will contact your organisation if you are eligible for funding in 2024/25.
The following funding rounds are now closed, and funding has been distributed.
Community Food Hub Fund 2023
The Community Food Hub Fund 2023 provided $1.5m per year in contributory funding to maintain food distribution infrastructure. This funding was for community hubs to collect and deliver high volumes of surplus and wholesale food and was for two years to 2025.
Community food hubs collect, process, and distribute supplies of essential food items to support people who experience food insecurity. This fund has closed, with 34 providers receiving funding.
Community Food Provider Fund 2023-2024
This funding provided $9.1m to support community food providers to meet increased food demand for their services and to transition out of reliance on government funding. This fund has closed, with 199 providers receiving funding.
North Island Weather Events
The Government invested $6 million over two years (to June 2024) to fund community food provision in regions affected by the North Island Weather Events (NIWE), helping to ensure access to affordable, healthy, and culturally appropriate food. This fund has closed, with 151 providers receiving funding.
Puta Ora Food Security Fund
This was funding was for community initiatives that increased access to healthy and affordable food in low-income communities and would be sustainable in the long term. Projects could also enable Māori to exercise food sovereignty. This fund has closed with 75 successful applicants receiving $4m of funding.
Community Food Infrastructure Fund
The Infrastructure Fund was provided to strengthen the capability and resilience of the community food distribution network. The funding was intended to expand the capability and capacity of an existing local food hub or to establish a new local food hub. This fund has closed, with 90 providers receiving $8.2m of funding.
Community Food Response Extension Fund
Community Food Response Extension funding supported community food organisations to meet the increased demand for food support. The intention of the funding was to support community food providers as they transitioned from emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, towards longer term food security outcomes. This fund has closed, with 241 providers receiving $12.95m of funding.
Food Secure Communities Implementation Fund
This was funding for communities to implement or scale up sustainable initiatives that increased access to affordable and healthy kai within low-income communities. Projects could also enable Māori to exercise tino rangatiratanga over food systems that nourished whānau. This fund has closed, with 90 successful providers.
Food Secure Communities Grants
This was funding to develop and implement plans for building food security within communities. This fund has closed, with 49 successful providers.
Community Food Response Funding
This was contributory funding to support increased demand experienced by community food providers over a two-year period due to the impacts of COVID-19. This fund has closed, with 131 providers receiving funding.
Community Food Transition Grants
This was transitional funding to support increased demand for emergency food during the transition between Civil Defence Emergency Management groups standing down, and MSD implementing the two-year Community Food Response Funding. This fund has closed, with 135 providers receiving funding.
