Shropshire Council: Tackling the underlying causes of food insecurity through training

Shropshire is one of England’s most rural and sparsely populated counties. In contrast to most other projects around the UK which focus on urban areas, Shropshire’s SPHL project specifically explores rural food insecurity.

Traditionally, a Local Authority might tackle food insecurity through an approach that sees the provision of food as a sensible solution to the problem. The SPHL Shropshire team tackled food insecurity in rural South West Shropshire by taking a whole-system approach to tackling underlying causes surrounding the issue and how these impact on health inequalities. This involved a focus on systems change, collaboration, and addressing root causes like income inadequacy.

The team explored project activities such as reframing food insecurity to reduce stigma, integrating it into organisational plans, and promoting a "cash-first" approach for emergency support. As the project progressed the Shropshire team identified a need for holistic training which took a whole system approach to tackling food insecurity. They developed the Ask, Assist and Act (AAA) training and toolkit, which creates a framework for conversations and actions that tackle the root causes of food insecurity, such as lack of income.

This case study focuses on Shropshire’s work on the toolkit amongst broader project activities. It highlights system-wide changes and impacts, lessons learned, and future steps.

Living in a rural area brings specific challenges around food security - especially for people on low incomes. Many rural jobs are low paid and the rural premium means costs for transport, food and services are often higher than in urban areas. It is more difficult for rural residents to access affordable healthy food: shops that serve these communities tend to be more expensive and public transport options can be limited. These extra costs add up for rural families and exacerbate their ability to have food security. Living through multiple crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have further amplified these issues. Yet often, benefits for people on low-incomes go unclaimed: it is estimated that unclaimed benefits across Great Britain is now £22.7 billion per year.

Addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity (such as insufficient income) requires a shift towards longer term, collaborative and systemic ways of working. These shifts can be challenging: it takes time for new mindsets, behaviours and practices to develop.

Shropshire’s focus centred on reframing food insecurity, helping people to maximise their incomes, and bringing communities and organisations together to co-create solutions. These key levers were identified from learning about the issue locally and developing a Theory of Change informed by this understanding.

As well as working with local organisations that were aiming to directly support the individuals experiencing food insecurity, the project team also influenced decision makers to ensure the approaches developed were embedded and would be sustained.

Activities included:

• Undertaking research comparing food prices in rural areas, to highlight the differences across localities
• Forming valuable links between key community organisations – including food banks and primary care
• Offering training to support frontline workers and volunteers.

The 'Ask, Assist, and Act' (AAA) toolkit was developed in response to demand and as a complement to other initiatives like Maximising Income training and the AFA (Advice First Aid) program. The AAA toolkit encourages systemic, long-term thinking, addresses stigma, and tackles the root causes of food security issues. As the project progressed, the team increasingly focused on the AAA toolkit, continually refining its content and delivery through ongoing testing and stakeholder feedback to better meet the needs of the community.

It is important, when working to shift mindsets, that multiple perspectives and experiences are shared."

Kate Slater, Community Project Coordinator, Citizens Advice Shropshire

Impacts have been seen across communities and project stakeholders.

In the early stages of the project Shropshire Council, Healthwatch Shropshire, the Shropshire Food Poverty Alliance and Citizens Advice Shropshire came together to work in partnership. Working in a multi-partner way enabled better cross-sectoral working relationships and amplified efforts, impact and the potential for systems change.

Partnership working led to:

• Over 700 frontline staff and volunteers have been trained in AAA and related training programmes to better support and signpost residents. This has led to improved confidence amongst staff and volunteers to talk to residents about their money worries and share local information.
• Shropshire Council adopting the AAA approach into the wider roll-out of the Development of Community and family hubs.
• Citizens Advice Shropshire is embedding learnings from the Shaping Places Programme in their approach to community development: training is a key part of this strategy.
• A change in mindsets across project partners and community stakeholders: frontline staff and volunteers are now approaching food insecurity through a systems lens.

Working closely with project partners and stakeholders provided more opportunities for the AAA training to be more widely delivered and adopted, building a greater legacy for the work. The Shropshire team also developed a variety of resources to support their training offers. These act as powerful tools in building an understanding of food insecurity and tackling stigma.

With the SPHL programme coming to a close, Shropshire has prioritised final development and socialisation of the AAA toolkit. This has included delivering training, and giving presentations at various sessions at a community and strategic level. These sessions have since been followed-up with discussions around adoption and culture change, with some early actions being adopted by decision-makers.

The team also undertook Ripple Effect Mapping to identify and clarify teams, organisations and groups where the AAA training would be of benefit. This mapping fed into the approach and strategy for socialising the toolkit and fed into legacy activities such as new policies.

Following a period of continual iteration based on feedback from users and stakeholders, the final toolkit is now on the Shropshire Food Poverty Alliance (SFPA) website, where organisations will be able to continue to download it beyond the end of the SPHL programme.

On top of these activities other sustainability efforts include a legacy plan, funding advocacy, and influencing local strategies. Continued work involves ongoing training and leveraging community assets for systemic change.

The team is also supporting the application for funding alongside project partners: including a National Lottery bid for a three-year programme which would roll out the delivery of AAA to community food organisations across Shropshire.

Have a simple message and clear call to action

Be selective about messaging, language and visuals and continually refine and simplify what you share. Shropshire’s call to action was simplified to three words: ask, assist and act (AAA). The AAA toolkit and training has been developed to follow this framework, offering an active process when supporting residents. The aims and expectations of the training were clearly outlined from the offset, so all attendees knew what to expect.

“The information feels accessible now!! I feel reasonably confident now that I can signpost clients and to make a referral. THANK YOU!!” 

Training attendee

Keep messaging hopeful

For challenging and complex issues such as food security it’s crucial to focus on a positive vision for change and build hopeful messaging into all project activities. The Shropshire team wove hopeful messaging through the toolkit, training sessions and wider project activities. They found that bringing a sense of hope motivates people to action, brings a positive energy, and has the potential to create larger ripples in the wider system.

Bringing organisations together 

Each town has a different local context, with varying community relationships. By bringing together different organisations at training sessions, the team initiated shared goals, coproduction of solutions, improved signposting, and created a deeper understanding of food insecurity on a local level.

Celebrate the wins 

Celebrating project achievements, both large and small, reduces the feeling of being overwhelmed by the enormity of changing a complex system. Sharing positive developments engages audiences, and highlights that change is possible and we all have a part to play.

Use hyperlocal data

AAA uses hyper-localised data and information in their training sessions and case studies, and created opportunities for local organisations to share their experiences. This approach increased relevance to local people and had a greater effect on encouraging grassroots systems change in Shropshire.

Share people’s stories

The training sessions highlighted the causes of food insecurity and also shared and discussed potential solutions, building engagement and fostering enthusiasm around actions. Sharing people’s lived experiences through practical case studies was a powerful tool to create a deeper understanding of food insecurity, challenge negative perceptions, look at the issue from other viewpoints, and find practical solutions through sharing information and signposting. Learning about multiple viewpoints is a vital part of taking a whole systems approach.

For further information email [email protected]

• Solving food insecurity in South-West Shropshire
• Ask/Assist/Act toolkit
• About Shaping Places for Healthier Lives