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In this section you can find case studies and resources around programmes assisting households who are unable to afford sufficient food for a healthy diet.
The Birmingham Food System Strategy is the city’s ambitious eight-year approach to creating a bold, sustainable, healthy and thriving food system.
Bradford District Credit Union has received international acclaim for its partnership work in Bradford. Started by Bradford Council in 1993, the credit union has just over 9,000 members and is recognised as the first Community Development Credit Union in the UK.
The credit union has been working closely with Bradford Council to co-design a number of initiatives aimed to support residents with the rising cost of living.
The Buy in Bradford food voucher scheme was launched in response to the growing numbers of people in food poverty in the city. It established a network of retail outlets across the district where customers could collect food using the vouchers, as well as providing recipe ideas for healthy meals.
East Suffolk Council has worked with partners across sectors, through a series of workshops, to develop a wide reaching programme to support local residents with the rising cost of living.
LGA Case study: East Suffolk Council ‘Ease the Squeeze'
Eastbourne Borough Council has announced a £250,000 ‘cost of living emergency grant’ scheme that will deliver an immediate payment of £20,000 to Eastbourne Foodbank, with one thousand local people benefitting. The emergency grant will enable Eastbourne Foodbank to directly support even more people who have fallen into food and fuel poverty.
Council announces £250,000 cost of living emergency grant scheme - (lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk)
To help lower-income residents with the rising cost of living and food inflation, Kirklees Council is working with charity ‘The Bread and Butter Thing’, a mobile food pantry that increases access to affordable, healthy, and nutritious food.
The is a strong partnership approach to tackling food insecurity in Leeds, crucial to the city's response to the pandemic.
The London Borough of Lewisham is making tackling food poverty a priority in the recovery from the pandemic. The Council is already working with local groups to create social supermarkets from the food banks and networks that sprang up during the pandemic. It is now building on this work.
London Borough of Lewisham: Working with partners to address food poverty
From October 2021 - May 2022, Merton’s Community Fridge Network saved over 27,200kg of food from going to waste, equivalent to 58,600 meals and 77,300kg of CO2, a good example of the positive impact a community can have when residents, businesses and organisations come together to take action on food insecurity and climate change.
LGA case study: London Borough of Merton: Community Fridge & Food Response Network
Tower Hamlets Council has established a Food Hub which empowers over 60 Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations in serving residents in the borough, and also supports the Council’s FOOD Store pantry programme – a dignity-focused membership model that tackles both food insecurity and root cause issues.
London Borough of Tower Hamlets: Food Hub & FOOD Store pantry programme
Families with young children in Nottinghamshire are being supported with the cost of living through a network of FOOD (Food On Our Doorstep) Clubs. The clubs provide more affordable access to healthy ingredients as well as supporting families to cook and prepare family meals.
Nottinghamshire County Council: Improving access to affordable and nutritious food
Oldham Council's vision is to be Greater Manchester’s "inclusive economy capital", by making the most of local assets and resources, including local purchasing, supporting local small and medium enterprises, and working with the community and voluntary sector. This ethos can be seen in their work on food and green spaces, crucial to the health and wellbeing of residents.
Greenwich have awarded part of the Government’s Household Support Fund to Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency to fund the provision of food to Greenwich food pantries and the local food bank.
The funding is for the purchase of fresh fruit, vegetables, and ambient food for local food pantries and the Greenwich Foodbank. This will top up the donations and the surplus food that each organisation depend upon, ensuring a safe, steady supply of nutritious food for residents who are experiencing food insecurity.
There are four food pantries in Greenwich, three of these are jointly funded by Feeding Britain and Family Action and are based in Thamesmead, Charlton Athletic Football Club and Eltham Green Church. The fourth pantry has been established for over three years and is based in Charlton and delivered by the housing association Peabody.
The Food Pantry (sometimes called a Food Club) aims to provide good quality food at a low cost, while also reducing food waste. Members pay £3.50 to purchase £15 worth of food. However there has been challenges related to the supply and quality of food. Food Pantries and the Greenwich Foodbank have been experiencing food supply issues, this is also happening regionally across London, due to a lack of surplus food within the system and a lack of donations.
Greenwich Foodbank have recently had to purchase food to top up their stock levels. Supermarkets are experiencing supply issues therefore there is a lack of surplus food being donated to those organisations who rely upon surplus. Pantries rely upon surplus food but the food which is currently being received tends to be high in fat, salt and sugar, of poor quality and there is a lack of culturally acceptable food.
Buying a steady supply of fruit, vegetables and ambient food will ensure stock remains nutritious and of high quality. Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency already purchase food for the Foodbank and have well established links with local wholesalers that puts them in a unique position to deliver the provision at speed locally.
Royal Greenwich to work with residents to tackle food poverty and the cost of living
In a bid to increase Free School Meal (FSM) take up in Sheffield, the Council decided to introduce automatic enrolment to the scheme. Using existing Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction data, the team follow an ‘opt out’ rule meaning that those not aware of their entitlement can still benefit from the offer. The council reports that they have significantly increased FSM uptake in the area, which in turn has created additional Pupil Premium Funding to help reduce the gap in attainment between children from higher and lower income households.
This move contributes towards the aims of the Sheffield Tackling Poverty Framework and to broader goals around improving public health and decreasing socioeconomic inequalities.