The short answer
The Local Food Infrastructure Fund is an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada program that has committed up to $101 million to 1,425 approved projects. Every LFIF stream is now closed to applications, and the whole fund ends 31 March 2027 — so this is a guide to how the money already committed reaches local organisations, not an invitation to apply.
- Status All three streams closed: Large Scale 28 Feb 2025, Small Scale's final intake 24 Sep 2025, Community Support 9 Jul 2026.
- Who could apply Large and Small Scale funded projects directly; the $20-million Community Support Stream took applications only from national or provincial nonprofit networks.
- Amounts Large Scale $150,000–$500,000; Small Scale $25,000–$100,000; Community Support requests of at least $3 million.
- How local groups still benefit As “ultimate recipients” chosen by a funded network. Up to 25% can go to storage and distribution equipment; construction is never eligible.
- What to do now Talk to your network, prepare a short brief, and look at provincial programs and kitchen-credit routes.
The Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) is an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada program for community food security. Its newest part, the $20-million Community Support Stream, was launched on June 19, 2026 by Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. It funds food banks and other nonprofits, but only through national and provincial networks.
That last point is the one most community kitchens and food banks need to hear first. The stream never took applications from individual local organisations: its intake was open only to large nonprofit networks, and it closed on July 9, 2026. Local groups receive the money second-hand. Here is what the fund paid for, who could apply, and what a local organisation can realistically do now.
What has the Local Food Infrastructure Fund actually paid for?
The Local Food Infrastructure Fund funds infrastructure that improves community access to local, nutritious and culturally appropriate food. According to AAFC's March 2026 announcement, the fund has committed up to $101 million to 1,425 approved projects to date — community gardens and kitchens, refrigerated trucks and storage units for donated food, and greenhouses in remote and Northern communities among them.
$101M
committed to 1,425 approved projects across the Local Food Infrastructure Fund to date
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, March 2026 announcement
Source$30M
announced in March 2026 for 235 further approved projects
AAFC — 58 Large Scale and 177 Small Scale projects
Source$5.3M
distributed by Nova Scotia's Feeding Communities Fund to 315 non-profits and charities
Government of Nova Scotia, 31 March 2026 — above the $4 million forecast
SourceThat same March 2026 announcement broke its $30 million into two components: Large Scale Projects, with funding between $150,000 and $500,000 for projects with multiple infrastructure or equipment needs, and Small Scale Projects, with grants between $25,000 and $100,000. One example: the Community Food Sharing Association in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, received up to $46,107 for a greenhouse, seeds, soil, compost and a root cellar to grow more food for food banks and shelters.
A note on the Large Scale numbers
Two official AAFC figures for this component look like they disagree. The program page says $19.2 million was allocated over two years from 2025–26 — the budget set aside. The March 2026 announcement says up to 58 projects were approved for $17.5 million — money awarded to named projects. Both are true and they measure different things. This post uses the awarded figure, $17.5 million to 58 projects, because it describes what reached organisations.
Which streams are closed, and what did each one fund?
All of it, in one table. Nothing below is currently accepting applications:
| Programme | Who could apply | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| LFIF — Large Scale Projects | Organisations with multiple infrastructure or equipment needs | $150,000–$500,000 per grant; 58 projects approved for $17.5M awarded ($19.2M allocated, per the program page) | CLOSED — applications closed 28 Feb 2025; program ends 31 Mar 2027 |
| LFIF — Small Scale Projects | Organisations with a single, smaller infrastructure or equipment need | $25,000–$100,000 per grant; $23.5M over three years from 2024–25 | CLOSED — final intake closed 24 Sep 2025; program ends 31 Mar 2027 |
| LFIF — Community Support Stream | Nonprofits, including Indigenous nonprofits, with national or provincial/territorial reach | $20M total; requests of at least $3M, normally no more than $15M | CLOSED — applications closed 9 Jul 2026; program ends 31 Mar 2027 |
| NS Local Food Security Initiatives | Non-profits, community organisations and Mi'kmaq communities in Nova Scotia | The province publishes no dollar range for this program | CLOSED — most recent intake closed 31 Aug 2026 |
| NS Feeding Communities Fund | Nova Scotia non-profits and charities running food relief | $5.3M distributed to 315 organisations, against a $4M forecast | Distributed — reported 31 Mar 2026 |
Who qualified for the Community Support Stream, and what can the money be used for?
The stream has two tiers of recipient, and only the first tier ever dealt with AAFC. The details below come from the official program guide.
| Initial recipients | Ultimate recipients | |
|---|---|---|
| Who they are | Nonprofit corporations and Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, Inuit) nonprofits with national or provincial/territorial reach | Nonprofit community-based organisations, and Indigenous communities, associations or governments |
| How they get funds | Applied to AAFC directly; intake closed July 9, 2026 | Selected and funded by an initial recipient; no relationship with AAFC |
| Other conditions | An established network of community organisations serving people at risk of food insecurity; incorporated and operating for at least 2 years | Set by the initial recipient's selection process |
| Amounts | At least $3 million, normally no more than $15 million, including a 10% administration rate | Set by the initial recipient |
AAFC says priority goes to national organisations with national networks of community-based nonprofits, and that it can fund up to 100% of eligible costs. Networks must pass the money on between fall 2026 and March 31, 2027.
What the funding can pay for
- Food. The funding is expected to be used primarily to purchase food.
- Storage and distribution equipment. Up to 25% of an initial recipient's overall funding can be allocated to ultimate recipients for storage and distribution equipment.
- Not construction. Projects involving new building construction or structural changes to an existing building are not eligible, so the stream will not pay to build or renovate a community kitchen.
How is this different from Nova Scotia's provincial food-security grant?
Nova Scotia organisations have a second, very different option — though its most recent intake has also closed. The province's Local Food Security Initiatives program, run by the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, funds non-profits, community organisations and Mi'kmaq communities directly, rather than through a network. Our guide to food security grant funding in Nova Scotia covers its eligibility, the documents it asks for, and what to have ready if the province opens another intake.
In Nova Scotia there is a third route for turning grant money into something practical: Food Web's kitchen credit partnership with Feed Nova Scotia puts funding in the hands of food entrepreneurs and community cooks as credits toward licensed kitchen time.
What can a community kitchen or food bank do now?
You cannot apply to AAFC for any of this, so the useful moves are positioning and looking elsewhere.
Five things worth doing this quarter
Step 1: Talk to your networks
Ask the provincial food bank association or national network you belong to whether it applied as an initial recipient, and how it will choose ultimate recipients. It is the only route into this money.
The only live path to LFIF funds
Step 2: Prepare a short brief
Set out your food purchasing needs and any storage or distribution equipment you would buy, in plain numbers, so a network can move quickly. Two pages beats a proposal nobody reads.
Two pages, plain numbers
Step 3: Plan for the timeline
Funds move between fall 2026 and March 31, 2027, with each network given a maximum of six months to distribute them. If your need lands after that window, this is not the money for it.
Window closes 31 Mar 2027
Step 4: Look at provincial and regional programs
Provincial programs fund local organisations directly. In Nova Scotia that means Local Food Security Initiatives and the Feeding Communities Fund — both closed at the time of writing, but both deal with organisations the federal stream will not.
Direct applicants, no network required
Step 5: Separate the money problem from the space problem
Food and equipment are two constraints; licensed kitchen space is often the third, and it has a different fix. Hourly rental and kitchen credits address it without a grant cycle.
Different constraint, different fix
To ask AAFC directly: aafc.communitysupport-soutiencommunautaire.aac@agr.gc.ca, or the AAFC call centre at 1-877-246-4682, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time, Monday to Friday.
AAFC does not publish how many local organisations will be funded, or how selections are weighted beyond its assessment criteria, so treat any claim about approval odds with caution.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a local food bank apply to the Community Support Stream?
- No. Only nonprofits with national or provincial/territorial reach could apply to AAFC, and intake closed on July 9, 2026. Local food banks and community organisations can receive funds as ultimate recipients, selected by those networks.
- Is the Local Food Infrastructure Fund still accepting applications?
- No. All three streams are closed: Large Scale closed 28 February 2025, Small Scale's final intake closed 24 September 2025, and the Community Support Stream closed 9 July 2026. The whole fund ends 31 March 2027. Any future funding would be a new program announcement, not a reopening.
- Why do two AAFC pages give different Large Scale totals?
- Because they measure different things. The Large Scale program page states $19.2 million allocated over two years from 2025–26 — the budget set aside. The March 2026 announcement states up to 58 projects approved for $17.5 million — money awarded to named projects. We cite the awarded figure in this post.
- Can Community Support Stream funding pay for a new community kitchen?
- No. Projects involving new building construction or structural changes to an existing building are not eligible. Up to 25% of a network's funding can go to local groups for storage and distribution equipment; the rest is expected to go mainly to buying food.
- What is the difference between the LFIF and the Community Support Stream?
- The Local Food Infrastructure Fund funds infrastructure that improves access to local food, through its Large Scale and Small Scale Projects components. The Community Support Stream is a newer $20-million stream focused on buying and distributing food, delivered through national and provincial nonprofit networks.
Turn food funding into kitchen access
Food and equipment are two constraints on community food work; licensed kitchen space is often the third. Food Web helps organisations find it: browse commercial kitchens available by the hour, see the community kitchens and food assets near you on the Asset Map, and — in Nova Scotia — learn how partners fund kitchen time for food entrepreneurs through the Kitchen Rental Grant Program. More funding coverage sits in the food news hub.
Sources
- The Government of Canada provides support to strengthen community food security across Canada — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Mar 3, 2026
- Local Food Infrastructure Fund: Community Support Stream — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sep 25, 2026
- Local Food Infrastructure Fund: Small Scale Projects — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sep 25, 2026
- Local Food Infrastructure Fund: Large Scale Projects — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sep 25, 2026
- Funding food relief programs — Government of Nova Scotia, Mar 31, 2026
- Apply for funding to help communities address food insecurity: Local Food Security Initiatives — Government of Nova Scotia, Sep 25, 2026
Written by
Justin Andrews
Kitchen access and local food infrastructure, Atlantic Canada
Justin Andrews is a chef-turned-founder who has spent the last decade working across farms, markets, restaurants, nonprofits, and academic research. He’s now the CEO of Food Web, a platform built to unlock underused commercial kitchens and strengthen local food systems. Justin writes about food, entrepreneurship, and the work of building resilient local economies.
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