SALFORD UNITES TO FEED THE CITY

Demand has risen by 29% in just one year and shows the extent of food insecurity hitting low-income residents across the city.

That’s why Salford City Council, Salford Citizen’s Advice and local charities are uniting to ‘feed the city’ and come up with long-term solutions to this latest crisis, as part of the city’s commitment to fighting poverty.

Two extra food banks, in Eccles and Irlam and Cadishead, have already been opened to expand support and make sure the city has a network of emergency provision.

Working alongside that are four new food clubs with plans to create more across the city. All the food supplied to them is excess produce from local supermarkets which would otherwise go to waste. 

Salford City Council has invested £75,000 to support the Feeding Salford plan which aims to make sure no-one goes to bed hungry in the city.

Deputy City Mayor Paula Boshell said:

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“Rising prices, stagnant wages and the impact of harsh benefit changes continue to make life very difficult for some of our residents – and we anticipate more problems when Universal Credit is fully rolled out in Salford later this year.

“One in 36 households in Salford needed help with food in 2016 and we have seen numbers continue to rise in 2017. 

“Food banks do a fantastic job and will continue to be vital to helping people in emergencies but we need to expand our city’s capacity to manage donated food. People in food crisis need more intensive support over a longer period. Food clubs are a way of doing that and reducing the pressure on food banks. 

“We’re also offering support to food club members through our health improvement service which has expertise in healthy eating and low-cost cookery.”

 

Tom Togher, Chief Officer of Salford Citizen’s Advice and leader of Salford Food Share, said:

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“We now have 200 households which are members of the food clubs.

Members can buy a basket full of food staples, such as bread, cereal, milk and vegetables, at reduced prices to make sure they have all the food they need for a week.

“Food club members and people using food banks are also offered money advice, such as tackling debts and support with challenging benefit decisions or making sure they get all the benefits they are entitled to. It’s all designed to help them get onto a more secure footing.”

 

Salford’s first social supermarket, only the second of its type in the country, opened in Pendleton last December.

Lucie’s Pantry is run by homelessness charity Emmaus. Members pay £2.50 per week and can choose food and household items to the value of £15. The supermarket has 85 members with a waiting list of 50 people who will be able to join when food supplies increase.