Oxford project tackling food poverty awarded major grant

The OX4 Food Crew, working across East Oxford, has secured a three-year grant from The National Lottery Community Fund, for the second time.

The funding will support collaboration between organisations and residents to address the root causes of food insecurity in the OX4 area.

A spokesperson for the OX4 Food Crew said: “This funding recognises that tackling food insecurity isn’t just about food, it’s about power, voice, and infrastructure.

“By investing in grassroots organisations and lived-experience leadership, The National Lottery Community Fund is helping communities build the capacity to fix the issues affecting them, together.”

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OX4 Food Crew Spring alliance gathering (Image: OX4 Food crew Spring alliance gathering)

OX4 Food Crew is a collaboration of 8 small grassroots organisation in the east of Oxford, in areas like Cowley and Little Leys.

The grant will fund shared infrastructure, coordination, research, and leadership development for grassroots organisations.

These resources aim to create a more unified and strategic response to food insecurity and related issues such as health inequality, poverty, and insecure housing.

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OX4 Food Crew at Christmas (Image: OX4 Food Crew)

Instead of focusing solely on short-term crisis support, the project will build community capacity and empower individuals with lived experience of inequality to drive change through participatory research and community organising.

The project will be delivered in partnership with local voluntary sector organisations and the local authority to create a more coordinated response to food insecurity.

The National Lottery Community Fund awards money raised by National Lottery players to community projects, with an aim to donate £4 billion to these projects by 2030.