Agenda item

A presentation on food bank provision across the District was delivered by the Head of Community and Housing Services. It was noted that this item was originally scheduled on the agenda for the last meeting and was to cover information concerning the Newstarts Community Supermarket only. However, at the Members’ request this presentation was now extended to cover community supermarkets and food bank provision across the District.

The details of the following organisations providing community supermarket and foodbank provision in the District were given:

·       NewStarts Community Supermarket

It was noted that the community supermarket was based on the stand-alone shop system with one member of staff and a number of volunteers providing community supermarket provision. This project was not funded by the Council. This project emerged from discussions at multi-agency Cost of Living (COL) Partnership and, as  NewStarts was an organisation that was used to handling food and had the correct food safety registrations, it offered to pilot the community supermarket project. The standalone cost of initiating the project was £67,000 and it launched operation at the Bromsgrove site from 1^st June 2023.

It was explained that the project operated on the environmental principle of preventing food waste by obtaining food that would otherwise be wasted. For example, NewStarts had agreements through a scheme called Neighbourly to collect surplus food from Lidl, Aldi and sometimes Sainsburys. In addition, NewStarts were supplied by an organisation called WasteKnot who obtained fresh fruit and vegetables that would either be ploughed back into the ground or placed in landfill.

Initially, the community supermarket was only running at the Bromsgrove Sherwood Road site since June 2023, but in August 2023 a second space was set up in New Frankley Arden Road. The community supermarket had been operating on a ‘pay what you can afford’ model as no resident was thereby excluded from accessing the provision.

It was highlighted that a number of metrics were used to measure the success of the NewStarts Community Supermarket, and in this regard it was noted that since the launch of the Bromsgrove Sherwood Road site on 1^st June 2023, 134 people used the supermarket and an income of £420 had been generated. 750kg of food was also saved from going to waste. For the New Frankley Arden Road site, opened on 2^nd August 2023, the respective figures were 82 people who used the supermarket, £208 income, and 150kg of food saved from going to waste.

It was noted that the project thus far operated at a £391 deficit, however, it was hoped that as more people learned about the project and the range of items widened, the income would increase. The project saw positive development in terms of making an impact to people who accessed the Bromsgrove and New Frankley sites. It was highlighted that the community supermarkets were currently opened once a week on Thursdays between 3pm and 6pm to provide continuity of opening times.

·       New Starts Food Bank

In addition to Community Supermarket, food bank was also operated by NewStarts at Sherwood Road, Bromsgrove, and Arden Road, New Frankley sites. The food banks were open to all Bromsgrove residents and were open Monday-Friday 9am to 4pm. The operating model to access the service was by agency referral and the food banks relied on donations of cash and food, in addition to the wholesale scheme with Morrisons and donations from Lidl, Aldi and Sainsburys, for its supplies. As part of the NewStarts scheme 1,706 food parcels had been distributed at Bromsgrove site and 1,246 at Rubery site to date. 

·       Catshill Baptist Church

Based at Catshill Baptist Church on Milton Road, Catshill, the focus of this food bank was on Catshill residents but it was open to all of Bromsgrove. The offer consisted of food and household supplies, the food bank was operated by volunteers, open on Wednesdays from 10.30am to 12.30pm, and was accessible via agency referral. The food bank relied on donations of cash and food, in addition to donations from Catshill Co-op, Catshill Spar, Catshill One Stop, and Waitrose and Lidl supermarkets in Bromsgrove. 986 parcels had been provided between 1^st January and 30^th September 2023.

·       The Basement Project

Based at Hanover House, 1 Hanover Street, it was stated that the focus of this scheme was on people under 25 but it was open to all Bromsgrove residents. The offer consisted of food and toiletries supplies, the food bank was open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4.30pm, and was accessible via both self-referral and agency referral. The food bank relied on donations of cash and food, and it worked with schools to provide food parcels to families. 610 parcels were provided via this project in the last 12 months.

·       Hollywood Christian Life Centre

Located at Simms Lane in Hollywood, the food bank was open to all Bromsgrove residents, providing food and toiletries supplies. It was open on Mondays from 1.30pm to 2.30pm, although parcels were provided 5 days a week. The food bank was available via both self-referral and agency referral, and the number of parcels provided were approximately 20-25 per week.

·       Alvechurch Community Larder

Based at Alvechurch Baptist Church Hall, open to residents of the Parish, providing food and some household supplies. The food bank was open on Fridays between 11am and 12.30pm with another day added recently due to popularity. The larder was accessible via self-referral where users paid £4 cash to access approximately £20 of food, with food provided from supermarkets. Numbers of parcels distributed to be advised.

·       The Duke of York

This would be run from a pub in Sidemoor which offered food on Mondays and Wednesdays between 8am and 10am. The operation model was via self-referral and the project was currently in the process of being set up.

Following the overview of the provision provided by Officers, the following issues were discussed:

·       It was noted that the Council’s Cost of Living surveys as well as anecdotal evidence highlighted an increase in the need for food bank services. More data was also held by Bromsgrove Partnership to confirm the trend. This data was backed up by the increase in the numbers of people accessing food banks nationally over the last few years. It was noted that many people who were previously unknown to the Council (for example people who were not accessing state financial support) were presenting at food banks. 

·       It was enquired whether the reference to 216 people who used the NewStarts Community Supermarket to date (both sites) denoted 216 unique individuals accessing the supermarket or 216 instances of access to the Supermarket (regardless of whether a person accessed it more than once). It was commented that this question also related to data presented for other foodbanks. Officers undertook to clarify whether the data related to the number of visits or the number of users.

·       Some Members thought that the referral model for accessing food banks was not appropriate, especially where people experienced sudden crisis or emergency situations and needed immediate access to food. It was explained on the other hand that the voluntary organisations providing the service had only limited supplies of food and the referral system helped them plan for demand and ensure that food parcels were provided to all people referred.

·       It was noted that the referral system enabled the Council to know more about a resident and thereby signpost to access support and funding, for example the Household Support Fund during Covid-19 pandemic.

·       Officers commented that it was likely the Government would no longer offer Household Support Fund and information was awaited on what funding support would be available from Government in this area in future years.

·       It was commented that most of the food bank schemes in the District were concentrated in Bromsgrove Town Centre, with some operating from other urbanised areas of the District. One of the schemes researched operated a delivery service.

·       It was pointed out that there were some discrepancies in food banks coverage across the District and that there were also differences across food banks with some requiring agency referral whilst others being available via self-referral. Some Members expressed concern that to access parcels at some food banks, residents had to provide personal information to the food bank staff.

·       It was noted that the Council did not fund the food banks or the community supermarket, but that these voluntary organisations could access grants funding administered by the Council. It was noted that the Basement Project received a small amount of funding from the Council relating to housing.

Following the discussion, Members agreed that it would be appropriate to establish a Task Group to investigate the food banks provision in the District, including what models of operation could work best in the District. It was agreed that the Task Group would be comprised of five or six Members and that membership would be decided following the meeting, to be formally confirmed at the next meeting of the Board.

RESOLVED that a Task Group be established to investigate the topic of Community Supermarket / Food Bank provision in the District.