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.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Regional food economies
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Local organic agriculture
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Community food strategies
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Broader food systems initiatives
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Farms*
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Small Businesses
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Worker's Co-operatives
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Not-For-Profit Organizations
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Community Groups**
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Research and Advocacy
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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.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
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)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Tenant Farmers who:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
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
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Business owners without access to credit or capital to qualify for a loan
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
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
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Groups with members that face systemic barriers, and led by people from the community they serve.
AND/OR
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
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.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
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
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Organizations that have received funding from Carrot Cache three or more times in the past
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Organizations that currently receive money from foundations, corporations, the United Way or government (including grants from the Trillium foundation).
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Travel, individual education, HST, and conferences
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Projects outside of Ontario
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Projects that are completed and seeking cost recovery
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5bfd407768ee799b7fd2f0e0/5c053d8342e49ed2a80db5a7_carrot-bullet.jpg)
Requests outside of our granting cycle
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Emergency food projects (ie., food hampers)
Carrot Cache grants are between $500 and $5000
Go to "How to Apply" page