Innisfil, ON – The Town of Innisfil is proud to announce they are supporting 18 food-based projects in 2026 through the Community Food Projects Grants. These grants were organized to allocate funds available to the Town through the Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group’s Learning Engagement & Accelerator Fund (L.E.A.F) in support of grassroots initiatives that promote community connection, celebrate cultural diversity, or improve food access.
At its inception, the program aimed to support 10 applicants with $1,000 grants each for a total of $10,000. However, due to the number of strong applications with high-impact projects, the Town decided to release additional L.E.A.F funds to support a total of 18 community-led organizations and groups.
“We are overjoyed at the great community response we had to our Community Food Projects Grants,” says Mayor Lynn Dollin. “When staff saw the quality of the applications we received and the shared impact they would have, it was important for us to try to support as many of them as possible. Thankfully, we were able to allocate additional funds toward doing just that.”
By group, the recipients of the Community Food Projects Grants are:
Schools:
- Goodfellow Public School
- Killarney Beach Public School
- Nantyr Shores Secondary School
- St. André Bessette Catholic School
Non-profits and/or charities:
- Community4Kids
- CFS Counselling & Wellbeing
- Innisfil Food Bank
- Innisfil Lions Club
- Rotary Club of Innisfil
- Rox of Hope Empowerment Foundation
- UPlift Black
Volunteer groups:
- Gilford and District Horticultural Society (Innisfil Garden Club)
- Help the Community
- Innisfil & Area Seniors Connect with Debbie
- Innisfil Indian Association
- Innisfil Seed Library
- The Giving Garden Project
- Taste Community Cultural Initiative
Successful projects ranged from purchasing a new refrigerator for the Innisfil Food Bank and hosting food literacy workshops for youth to preparing food donations for the Troy Scott Community Fridges and supporting local community events. For information on how each applicant will use their $1,000 Community Food Project Grant, visit innisfil.ca/grants.
“It’s hard to accept that in a world where food is so abundant, so many people still go without,” says Jacquie Raaphorst, coordinator of the Help the Community group. “Seeing the Town step forward with a grant focused on food and community means a lot.”
The Town extends their gratitude to all community groups and organizations that applied for this opportunity, and gives a heartfelt congratulations to all successful applicants.