Feeding the City: Start Up

Feeding the City Start Up is a free 9-month programme supporting people in London who are passionate about creating sustainable food-related businesses that benefit communities.

Feeding the City Start Up figures to date:

grant funding

£ 0 K

enterprises supported

Feeding the City Start Up is a free 9-month programme supporting people in London who are passionate about creating sustainable food-related businesses that benefit communities.

London's food challenge: A call for change

London’s food system faces critical challenges, from inequalities highlighted by the pandemic to supply chain vulnerabilities exacerbated by Brexit. However, the past few years have also witnessed a surge in inspiring initiatives demonstrating the power of a more resilient and inclusive food system.

We believe that innovative, community-driven solutions are key to creating a more just and sustainable food future for all.

Our participants on:

Access to Nutritious Food: Increasing access to healthy, culturally relevant, and affordable food for all Londoners.
Sustainable Consumption: Reducing diet-related health issues and promoting sustainable consumption patterns.
Urban Farming: Expanding urban farming initiatives to increase local food production.
Environmental Impact: Minimizing the environmental footprint of London’s food system, including waste, emissions, and resource use.
Resilient Food Supply: Strengthening the resilience and diversity of our food supply chain through diverse sourcing, seasonal procurement, and inter-city collaboration.
Economic Opportunity: Creating job opportunities in the food sector for communities most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic

Who we supported

We empowered food and drinks focused social entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds to innovate and find new ways to serve their local communities.

What participants received

Training & Mentoring: Expert-led sessions equipping them with the skills to succeed as food entrepreneurs.
Peer Support: Collaborative learning and development of sustainable products and services alongside fellow participants.
Confidence Building: Enhancing personal confidence, both in business and beyond.
Community Engagement: Empowering individuals to drive positive change within their local communities.
Networking: Access to a valuable network of entrepreneurs, peers, and industry experts.
Resilience Development: Building the entrepreneurial resilience needed to overcome obstacles.

Our impact

Our Impact Report showcases the incredible achievements of our programme participants in launching their food-related businesses and contributing to a more sustainable food system:

The programme has helped massively. The bursary has allowed me to experiment, develop and take steps I simply wouldn’t have otherwise taken. Meeting experts and other entrepreneurs has helped me build new skills, and I’ve received support and advice on how to make realistic progress. The Programme Manager in particular has been a crucial sounding board and mentor, and helped me keep on track with my priorities

The programme has been pivotal in the professional development of Sisterwoman Vegan. It helped me to tailor it to the London market, really understand my customer and what my social goals were. I now really understand the power and purpose of a social enterprise and have been connected to incredible contacts such as Dee Woods, Made in Hackney and Kemi Akinola.

It’s fantastic that all the teams are creating projects relating to food, but that the ways in which we are approaching social impact is different. We all have a connection whereby we really help and motivate each other. Without Feeding the City: Start Up I don’t know where we’d be