The Black Food Fund is a new fund shaped for and by Black people from Lambeth and Southwark.
Through this work, we are funding and facilitating a co-led process to establish the Black Food Fund in Lambeth and Southwark.
The Black Food Fund is a 2-year learning programme that will see us recruiting a group of people deeply connected to the local food system in Lambeth and Southwark. Funded by Impact on Urban Health, this group will be responsible for administering c. £450k worth of grant funding. Our focus will be to help strengthen a locally-rooted support system for Black change-makers (e.g. local food entrepreneurs, community businesses and innovators).
Our ultimate aim, through this fund, is to improve the health of the local food system for Black people living in the boroughs.
LITTLE NOTE: By the local food system we mean the way food is produced and distributed within our area. This includes people and organisations that make food, produce food, promote food, sell food, teach about food or influence the food we eat.
Who.
A group of Black community leaders passionate about our communities' life and health. We are focused on building healthier food environments for Black people living in Lambeth and Southwark. Click on our images for bios.
Why.
The current local food system is inequitable. Access to healthy food is a luxury and Black people in our place are disproportionately impacted.
Entrepreneurship, innovation and community businesses are important levers for change on a national and local level, helping to disrupt this status quo.
Impact on Urban Health is committed to speeding up this disruption and to supporting Black change-makers from Lambeth and Southwark to be part of the movement.
They also want to invest in Lambeth and Southwark, to make it an even better place for Black change-makers to have more opportunities, gain skills and thrive.
Together, and through this fund, we want to strengthen a locally rooted system of support for Black change-makers. We want to invest in those embedded in the local community, food system and businesses. We think they're best equipped to decide how to improve this local system of support.
The Black Food Fund is an opportunity to learn what this system of support would look like if the resources and power to shape and fund it were held by local experts. It’s also an opportunity for us to learn how to shift resource and power in this way.
As a committee, we will…
Act locally, care nationally: We want to create longevity and a legacy of Black change-makers, especially in Lambeth and Southwark.
Be committed to the community: We are committed to health and food equity for Black people living in Lambeth and Southwark.
Think long-term: We want our impact to be ingrained and become second nature. We want the impact of this work to be long-lasting.
Be connected, networked and intersectional: We want our work to foster collaboration and partnership across the community, across different intersections of the community, with allies and with local people.
Be care based: It’s important this feels different. A place for Black people to centre care in our local infrastructure.
Be independent and give freedom: we hold our funding independently and with autonomy and in exchange give funding with trust in our community.
Be bold, experimental and flexible: We want to hold space to prototype dreams. Influencing social justice and food equity. Being change makers and trendsetters.
Be well governed: We invest in strong leadership structures and processes, training and development. Within this we recognise we may make mistakes but we will share our learning openly.
Acknowledgements.
The Black Food Fund is funded by Impact on Urban Health, and hosted and facilitated by Hello Brave.
So far over 20 people have worked together over three years to develop the Black Food Fund. These include Afiya “Fi” Titus, Ali Kakande, Alisha Mulhall, Bayo Adelaja, Carmen Lindsay, Destiny McCathy, Duncan Brown, Felicia Boshorin, Fiona Small, Hazel Peck, Janine Carpenter, Kamna Muralidharan, Laura Reynolds, Matt Towner, Maryan Nuur, Sadhbh Doherty, Sharmada Nagarajan, Shola Oladipo, Tegha Kum, Will Nicholson and Winne Baffoe.
We thank them for their investment in this work so far.
Get In Touch.
If you have feedback, are interested in learning more or want to get involved please contact Tayo and Bella at hello@blackfood.fund