Category: Food poverty

Local Lifelines: investing in local welfare during and beyond Covid-19

29 Oct 20

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister told us no child will go hungry this winter. Our new report today shows that extending local welfare would be a good place to start. 

Local Lifelines: investing in local welfare during and beyond Covid-19 shows the important role local welfare assistance schemes run by councils in England have played during Covid-19, and calls for an extension to the £63m funding announced in June, which the government expected to be spent within twelve weeks.

The report explains:

  • Local welfare assistance has played an important role in the response to the crisis, often making the difference between someone staying on their feet or falling into destitution, and it can be an effective way of preventing a financial emergency from escalating into a more sustained crisis.
  • While the £63m of funding for local authorities in England invested in June has provided a lifeline, central government was clear it expected councils to spend most of this money within 12 weeks. We spoke with local authorities who told us they are now facing a financial cliff edge, with further investment needed if they are to keep delivering support to those hardest hit by the crisis.
  • As we move into winter, with 670,000 more people forecast to be pushed into destitution, now is not the time to discontinue that welcome additional investment in local welfare.

Sustainable long-term funding is needed – it is unreasonable to expect such short-term funding to overcome entrenched issues such as the postcode lottery in provision, with regional spend in 2018/19 varying from £0.39 per head in the West Midlands to £1.32 per head in the North West. Only guaranteed, sustainable funding can give local authorities the security to plan ahead and build capacity.

We’re asking the government to:

  1. Extend the Emergency Assistance Grant until the end of the financial year 2020/21
  2. Reconvene the Food and Other Essential Supplies to the Vulnerable Ministerial Task Force until July 2021
  3. Invest £250m per year in local welfare assistance over the longer-term.

Food cannot be the answer to people needing a food bank – instead, we need to ensure everyone has enough money to afford essentials. While it’s essential that steps are taken to strengthen national social security, we also need to make sure local welfare acts as the lifeline we know it can be.

Read the full report here.

Read more

This post will expire on Tuesday January 5th, 2021 11:15pm

Cornwall Food Access Alliance Launched

Tuesday 3rd November 2020

Dear Friend

We are writing to introduce you to the Cornwall Food Access Alliance (CFAA) which is a growing Network of community organisations – small and large – that are willing to sign up to CFAAs  Vision ‘Of Cornwall as a place where no one goes  hungry’.

CFAA objectives:  

  1. IDENTIFY: Understand the need (for food and related support)
  2. COMMUNICATE: Coordinate delivery of food support activities and communications about it
  3. SHARE: Resolve issues by sharing best practice, skills and knowledge to identify and fill gaps
  4. CHALLENGE: Advocate for change in system to prevent food insecurity / assure people’s right to food
  5. PLAN: Agree priorities for the future and inform food systems strategies

CFAA is one of a number of themed alliances that have been set up by Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum (Cornwall VSF). The other themed alliances include Disability; Housing & Homelessness; Environment; Mental Health etc

CFAA STEERING GROUP MEMBERS:

Co-Chairs: Rev Andrew Yates (Cornwall Faith Forum & Diocese of Truro) & Jane Yeomans (Transformation Cornwall). Andrew Howell (Newquay Orchard & End Hunger Cornwall), Anne Davis (Bosvigo School), Babs Roundswell (CHAOS group), Belinda Faulkes (CN4C), Brian Honey-Morgan, Don Gardner (CPR Foodbank), Gill Pipkin (CAB), Gitty Ankers (Cornwall Food Action), Joyce Duffin (CPR Foodbank), Kevin Marsh (Treverbyn Hall, Community Larders), Liz Wilkin (CRCC, Fisheries), Matthew Thomson (Independent), Shelley Wright (Fareshare), Simon Fann (Truro Foodbank), Tamas Haydu, (CCF).

BECOME A MEMBER OF CORNWALL FOOD ACCESS ALLIANCE:

CFAAs steering group leads a partnership board made up of members of the 200+ Cornish grassroot and wider community food organisations Membership of CFAA is by declaration where a group:

  • Supports the 5 CFAA objectives
  • Are engaged in food support               &
  • Are working to the vision of CFAA ‘Of a Cornwall where no one goes Hungry.’

If you would like to join, please do so by joining Cornwall VSF.

JOIN CORNWALL VOLUNTARY SECTOR FORUM:

To receive regular updates from Cornwall VSF with links to similar groups that can improve our partnership working, news of training opportunities and what is going on in communities around Cornwall you just need to become a member of Cornwall VSF. Membership is free to any not for profit organisation in Cornwall and all legal entities that fall under that category. All new Members will automatically be included in the mailing list for the daily newsletter, and receive regular updates around general and specific news of interest.

You can join Cornwall VSF here: http://www.cornwallvsf.org/become-a-member/

FOOD PROVISION AND SERVICES MAPPING:

Cornwall Council’s Food Security Group are undertaking a mapping exercise to identify locations and levels of people that are more likely to experience food insecurity. In conjunction with this, the group will also map locations of organisations that are providing support to individuals and/or families to access food.

The Food Security Group are looking for organisations to provide a summary of their offer using the following headings that will be used to map and describe their offer:

  • Name of Organisation:
  • Address including postcode:
  • Best way to get in touch:
  • What support/type of food provision do you offer i.e. food parcels, cooked meals etc.
  • A brief description of what you offer using no more than 80 words

Please email these details to: foodgrant@cornwall.gov.uk

FUNDING SUPPORT 

CORNWALL COUNCIL Emergency Food Assistance Fund:

On Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Cornwall Council opened the Emergency Food Assistance Fund to give financial help to community food groups supporting people who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to COVID-19.

Existing and new community food organisations across Cornwall can now apply for funding from our Emergency Food Assistance Fund to pay for food, equipment, storage, transport costs or any other items which can build their capacity, infrastructure and resilience so they are in a stronger position to help their communities access emergency food and essential supplies.  

This fund is available for existing and new community food organisations who can demonstrate that they are able to support individuals and families to access food that is nutritious in a socially acceptable way It is not intended to make cash payments to individuals.

Key points of the scheme are: 

  • Individual grants for organisations of up to £25,000. 
  • An organisation can apply for a maximum of two applications per organisation.
  • Grants can be spent on Revenue and Capital to enable support for infrastructure costs.

To apply or find out more about the criteria please go to https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/foodgrant

TRANSFORMATION CORNWALL

Transformation Cornwall have a grants list of other local and national grants for Foodbanks, community food projects and faith based social action projects in Cornwall which is regularly updated – (this includes links to the latest grants from Cornwall Community Foundation):

https://transformation-cornwall.org.uk/resources/transformation-cornwall-grants-list

If you would like any more information, please get in touch

Best wishes,

Andrew Yates and Jane Yeomans (Co-chairs of CFAA)

Andrew Yates srotruro@btinternet.com

Jane Yeomans jane@transformation-cornwall.org.uk

Download letter

This post will expire on Monday January 4th, 2021 10:25am