Over the last three years Together Lancashire has been involved in supporting and networking a wide range of food banks and other food poverty projects across the diocese.
In recognition of this work Together Lancashire has recently received funding from Lancashire County Council to support a programme of activities, working alongside key partners, designed to improve availability of healthy affordable food to the people of the county. We will be working alongside well over 30 other projects ranging from food banks, community cafes, cook and eat classes and food growing projects, and a wider range of Voluntary, community and Faith sector organisations. The aim is to build individual resilience, to encourage healthy eating and to maxmise the benefits of smarter working and increased collaboration across the community.
Churches and faith linked groups have a vital role to play in developing the work of their existing food related projects, offering premises for new activities, recruiting skilled and enthusiastic volunteers as well as organising collections and donations of food and funds to local projects.
In particular we want to ….
- Help distribute simple recipe cards for meals on a budget, in food parcels supplied by all the food bank outlets in the county
- Make sure food banks and community cafes are able to access adequate supplies and good logistics around food from wholesalers and manufacturers as well as from church and community collections, and of equipment such as cookers, freezers and appropriate storage.
- Support educational programmes for service users and volunteers so that there is improved awareness and practice in cooking healthy meals on a budget, food hygiene and “customer service”.
- Encourage local sourcing and community production or gathering of healthy seasonal food.
- Collect stories, information and statistics demonstrating the assets, service provision and needs around food in Lancashire, and disseminate “what works” information of good practice and successful outcomes.
- Establish a “slow cooker” programme providing slow cookers, recipes and training and a slow cooker twinning scheme to help households with limited means.
- Promote “cook for a neighbour” schemes which offer nutritious cooked meals to isolated and struggling households
