Communities in Cumberland - host a Harvest Fest event in your community
- apply for up to £150 in funding
Celebrate autumn by hosting a Harvest Fest!
Celebrate local food, eat sustainably, and bring your community together this autumn.
Every autumn, communities across the UK come together to mark the end of the growing season – enjoying local produce, the chance to gather, share food, and spend time with neighbours. It’s a great way to reconnect with the land and each other- whether that’s through cooking, growing, or simply sharing a meal.
Thanks to support from the Food Cumberland Partnership, community groups in the Cumberland area can now apply for upto £150 in funding to bring a Harvest Fest event to life in Autumn 2026 – with food-based fun that feeds both bellies and community spirit.
What's the aim?
Your Harvest Fest should:
- Be hosted in the Cumberland Council area
- Bring people together
- Promote local food
- Encourage low carbon and healthy choices
- Be low waste and single use plastic free
What do we mean by local and low carbon food?
- Local food = grown or produced in Cumbria (farm shops, markets, local growers)
- Low carbon food = seasonal, plant-rich, minimal packaging, low food miles (e.g apples, squash, root veg, small portions of local meat
Event ideas include:
- Share a local meal or potluck
- Host food demos or cooking sessions
- Hold a growers market, apple pressing or seed swap
- Try a composting or preserving workshop
- Plan a Halloween costume swap or foraging walk
- Use reusable tableware and donate leftovers
More info on how to plan your event can be found here >>
Who can apply?
Funding is open to constituted community groups in Cumberland. Events must support all key aims – local, low carbon, healthy, low waste, plastic-free.
Grants of up to £150 will be awarded on the strength of your proposal.
Applications close Sunday 13th September
With thanks to:
