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More funding for groups helping feed hard-hit families
15/03/2023
Extra cash is being provided so money will be available until 2024
Funding has been agreed to continue supporting the groups which help provide food for struggling local families during the cost-of-living crisis. Cherwell District Council’s Executive agreed to the move at its most recent meeting.
It means not-for-profit organisations involved in food provision for residents can apply for a share of a fund, which has been topped up by an extra £20,000. This means cash will remain available until 2024.
So far grants have been given to community gardens, growing spaces and cooking skills classes across north Oxfordshire.
The decision to provide the extra money followed a review into work being done to improve people’s access to food.
The Executive also gave the green light to the objectives the council will pursue as part of its district food strategy, which will be developed in partnership with Good Food Oxfordshire through a food insecurity working group.
The goals include supporting independent food producers, working to embed sustainable food principles in institutional catering and supporting the redistribution of surplus food.
Councillor Phil Chapman, Food Champion and Portfolio Holder for Healthy Communities, said: “We don’t want anyone to go hungry in Cherwell district, and we will continue to work with our local partners to help make a difference.
“So far, we’ve issued ten community food grants to organisations that are providing food to those who need it and who are giving people the opportunity to think more about what they put on their plates and the connection it has to the natural world.
“Since we declared a food insecurity emergency last summer, we’ve done some innovative work to support our residents. That has included investing £352,000 to provide food vouchers to residents on housing benefit as well as initiatives to provide food to young people and the elderly.
“We believe that access to food will continue to be a problem for some people in the district and we are now starting work on a longer-term vision for tackling that with Good Food Oxfordshire, using our influence and our connections in the local area to make a real difference.”
More information about the community food organisation grants is available here.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam