Carrot Cache is looking to fund food projects that are driven by individuals or groups who are facing systemic barriers and/or lacking funds from other resources to complete projects that improve or create change within the local food system in Ontario.
Applicants from a community that faces systemic barriers e.g. Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+, remote communities etc will be prioritized.
Regional food economies
Local organic agriculture
Community food strategies
Broader food systems initiatives
Farms*
Small Businesses
Worker's Co-operatives
Not-For-Profit Organizations
Community Groups**
Research and Advocacy
Media-Based Education: Print and Web-based media that advance a sustainable and just regional food system
* We only accept applications from farms that produce food
** You do not need to be a legal entity to receive money from the Carrot Cache.
For Individual Farmers/Business Owners
Applicants must meet at least one of the criteria below to be eligible to apply. Priority is given to applicants that meet more than one criteria.
Applicants from a community that faces systemic barriers e.g. Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+, remote communities etc. (this list is not exhaustive)
Tenant Farmers who:
do not have support from family or a previous career that has allowed them to buy or use for free, land and/or business assets
AND
who do not qualify for conventional loans because they do not own land or other assets to use as collateral
Business owners without access to credit or capital to qualify for a loan
Community focused projects that have no access to other grants/funding and that directly benefit people who face systemic barriers
For Non-Profits/Grassroots Groups/Co-ops
Groups with members that face systemic barriers, and led by people from the community they serve.
AND/OR
System level projects that have an impact on improving the operation of a sustainable and just food system, support communities that face systemic level barriers and that have no other access to funding.
Groups must:
- Have a full-time, year-round staff of 3 or less
- Have no staff dedicated solely to fundraising
- Have no funding from family foundations / corporations / government or United Way
Organizations that have received funding from Carrot Cache three or more times in the past
Organizations that currently receive money from foundations, corporations, the United Way or government (including grants from the Trillium foundation).
Travel, individual education, HST, and conferences
Projects outside of Ontario
Projects that are completed and seeking cost recovery
Requests outside of our granting cycle
Emergency food projects (ie., food hampers)
Carrot Cache grants are between $500 and $5000
Go to "How to Apply" page