New funding: Future Healthy initiative to boost Victorian food hubs!

Is my organisation eligible?

We know there are many organisations out there, eager for a chance to create or expand their food hubs.

Funding in this grant round is open to incorporated entities including:

1. Companies (incorporated with ASIC under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth))- including companies limited by guarantee and companies limited by shares*
2. Incorporated Associations (incorporated under Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 and registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria)
3. Indigenous Corporations (incorporated under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) and registered with ORIC)
4. Non-Distributing Co-Operatives (as registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria in accordance with Co-operatives National Law Application Act 2013)*

*If you are an organisation that meets this entity type of companies limited by shares, or non-distributing co-operatives, we ask that you select ANY of the entity type options listed in the online application form AND send us an email. If you are a company limited by shares, please indicate this in your email, along with your Australian Company Number. If you are a non-distributing co-operative, please include your organisation’s registered name as it appears on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website. You can send this to [email protected]

All entity types, funding must be used to deliver on VicHealth's grant objectives.

Evidence of incorporation/registration must be provided with your application.  If your entity is in some other way incorporated or registered, please contact VicHealth to discuss your eligibility for funding.

Local Government entities are INELIGIBLE. Councils are encouraged to take a look at opportunities available through VicHealth’s Local Government Partnership

Commercial Organisations/For-Profit Organisations, Individual/Sole Trader, Statutory Authority, Trusts, Victorian Government Entity (e.g., Health Services, Schools) and Victorian Local Government Entities are INELIGIBLE.

See the Grant Guidelines for more information.

Do I need an ABN (Australian Business Number) to apply?

Yes, all organisations must have an ABN to apply.

Social enterprises are mentioned as being eligible to apply in the guidelines, however there is no option for social enterprise in the application form under registration types. Does this mean social enterprises can apply?

Social enterprises are an example of an eligible organisation.  A social enterprise must also meet one of our listed entity types:

1. Companies (incorporated with ASIC under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth))
2. Incorporated Associations (incorporated under Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 and registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria)
3. Indigenous Corporations (incorporated under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) and registered with ORIC)
4. Non-Distributing Co-Operatives (as registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria in accordance with Co-operatives National Law Application Act 2013)

If your social enterprise does not meet any of the above four entity types, you would have to apply through an auspice arrangement. 
Further information on applying through an auspice arrangement can be found in section 2.1.3 in the Grant Guidelines.

If you are a social enterprise, please select ANY option under the listed organisation types in the online form and email us to notify us that your organisation is a social enterprise. You can send this to [email protected]

My organisation is ineligible, what can I do?

If your organisation is ineligible for funding, look to partner up with another organisation through an Auspice arrangement. If you’re an organisation based in metropolitan Melbourne, there may be other funding opportunities available through through Future Healthy further down the track, so make sure to sign up to our Future Healthy mailing list and our VicHealth newsletter here to keep up to date.

Can an Auspice organisation support multiple applications?

The short answer is yes. If there are multiple applications from the same Auspice organisation, they will be looked at and assessed separately.

For more information on Auspice applications, please see section 2.1.3 of the Grant Guidelines.

My organisation has recently received VicHealth funding. Does that affect my eligibility to apply?

Existing and previous VicHealth funding recipients that comply with eligibility requirements ARE eligible for this grant.

However, funding through this opportunity is NOT available for the purpose of expanding or extending a successful Big Connect grant awarded in March 2022.

Will there be opportunities for those in the food systems sector to support the food hubs? 

From our stakeholder consultations, we determined that potential hub providers would benefit from youth engagement and business management training. To ensure that any additional capacity building meets the needs of the hubs and will support them meaningfully, we won't be identifying other areas of training until after the hub providers are chosen and a needs assessment is conducted with them. We will communicate any further opportunities to support the hubs in the next phase of this investment.

What period of time do we need to cover in our implementation plan?

Applicants should provide a high-level overview of the major components of their project over the full funding period (July 2022- June 2025).

How much and how long will I be funded for?

Each organisation will be given between $150,000 and $750,000 to deliver their food hub project.

Funding will be  for two financial years (1^st financial year: July 2022 – June 2023, 2^nd financial year: July 2023 – June 2024.)

When can I carry out the project?

Funded activities must be carried out between July 2022 – June 2025.

Where can I deliver the Food Hub?

We will be funding hubs in to be delivered in regional Victoria and the growth areas of Melbourne (as defined in Victorian Planning Authority). If you are not intending to use this funding to deliver a food hub in a regional location, or one of the growth areas listed below, then a Food Hub cannot be delivered in your area.

Growth areas include:

• Wyndham
• Melton
• Hume
• Whittlesea
• Cardinia shire
• Casey
• Mitchell

Check out our list of regional areas in Victoria here.

Please note, provided you have a base for your food hub, it’s ok to also include a component of outreach to the places where young people are. You would need to ensure that your application demonstrates how this approach would meet the objectives and principles of delivery outlined in the Grant Guidelines.  

Can I apply as a consortium to deliver multiple food hubs?

We are looking for one physical space per application. If you were to apply as a consortium who would come together to deliver one hub in one location you can apply together as a consortium. If you would be applying as a consortium to deliver multiple hubs across multiple locations, you will need to submit one application for each physical location.  

If applying as a consortium, we would expect the primary applicant to be involved in the delivery of the hub to some extent. However, partners in the consortium could take on different roles (e.g., delivering programs).

What will be funded?

Funding is available to support a range of essential goods and services which can be found in our Guidelines (section 4)

Although we are prioritising our funding for three areas associated with the implementation and maintenance of a Food Hub. This includes (in no particular order):

• Community Programming
• Wages, being the salaries of Trainees and Food Hub Coordinators
• Partnerships and Capacity Building

Please note we have set limits on the amount of VicHealth funding that can be used for some categories (see page 8-10 of the Grant Guidelines). There is no flexibility in the limits that we have placed. If you have access to additional sources of funding this can also be used.

When will I receive the funding?

Timing of payments to successful grant applicants will be advised in the notification email. An estimation of when payments will be released is below and can also be found in the Grant Guidelines.

How can I find more information about funding eligibility?

I’m glad you asked! We hosted an online Q&A session on Wednesday 13th April 1pm-2pm, to explain the funding opportunity in more detail and answer any questions you might have!

Don’t worry if you missed out, click here to watch the recording.

When and how can I expect to hear back from you?

All applicants will be notified of their application outcome by Mid-Late July 2022.

If your application is successful, we’ll send you an email with all the key information on how to accept your offer!

If you aren’t successful, we’ll still be in touch  via email with some useful resources and updates for what’s coming up next.

To make sure our email doesn’t end up in your spam folder, add the healthyfoodsystems@vichealth.vic.gov.au email to your contact list.

Will I receive feedback on an application if unsuccessful?

Generalised feedback will be provided to unsuccessful applicants; however, we are unable to provide individual feedback.

When is the next funding round?

Make sure to keep up to date with all our future funding opportunity, by signing up to our Future Healthy mailing list. You can also keep up with our activities by following the Future Healthy IG page.

Plus, our VicHealth newsletter delivers news and opportunities right across the organisation. Sign up here so you don’t miss out!

Can I speak to someone at VicHealth about my application?

We are not in a position to provide individual advice or feedback on applications. If your organisation is eligible to apply, and you think your idea meets the intention of this funding – please submit! You do need to ensure that your application demonstrates how your approach would meet the objectives and principles of delivery outlined in the funding guidelines. If you do have questions,  drop us an email at [email protected]

Please note our business hours are 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).