Flintshire Council increases funding for food poverty initiatives
Funding to tackle food poverty in Flintshire will increase next year despite pressure on council budgets to address its huge financial deficit.
Food poverty initiatives have no core funding. For the last five years Flintshire County Council has supported residents through schemes paid for through the council’s reserves which provide food through schools, foodbanks and community hubs to people who are struggling with the cost of living.
With those reserves dwindling, departments across the authority have been trying to find savings to reduce the council’s £47.5m budget deficit.
But following a passionate address by councillor Paul Johnson, Flintshire Council Cabinet Member for Finance and Social Value has approved a marginal increase in food poverty funding as it renewed its commitment to helping those in most need.
“The wellbeing objective in the council plan is defined as protecting people from poverty and supporting them to meet their basic needs,” he told the cabinet.
“Food poverty is defined as people not having access to good fresh food by choice. It is not about economics, it is a public health crisis that has serious implications for children’s learning, wellbeing and life chances.
“Where you have hungry children, you have hungry parents and hungry grandparents. It hinders parents’ ability to alleviate the crisis as they themselves fall hungry and their ability to make the decisions necessary to improve their circumstances becomes seriously impaired.”
Flintshire County Council will use £125,000 of reserves to fund programmes and staff to secure external funding that will enhance the food poverty support on offer across the authority.
The bulk of the money – £38,000 – will go towards free fruit in schools. The scheme is a vital lifeline for pupils who do not have breakfast and this funding is an increase of £1,000 on last year.
The rest of the funding – which remains unchanged year on year – will funds schemes including Hospital to Home safety boxes, Fit, Fed and Read Summer Holiday Programme, Christmas Food Support, cooking classes and Good Food Flintshire Events.
Many of these programmes are delivered through community centres, churches or warm hubs, working with partner organisations to provide food, sanitary products and advice to individuals and families looking for a way out of poverty.
Cllr Johnson paid tribute to the small team of officers in the council’s community development team who spend time securing partnerships and additional funding to help increase the reach and impact of the schemes.
“We have a small community development team, five or six people at most,” he said. “Then there is a larger group of volunteers working in community centres, community hubs and churches. They did it throughout the cost of living crisis and the bad weather and they are remarkable.
“People say no-one cares about the society we live in – just come and look at the work being done on in our warm hubs and community centres across Flintshire and you will be proved very wrong.
“If you are lonely, if you are poor, these hubs are places where you can go along for help and you will find volunteers who are able to signpost you to further support. These people – across the county – do this of their own volition.”
Cllr Glyn Banks, who runs the Mostyn Pantry food bank with his wife, Cllr Pam Banks, echoed Cllr Johnson’s praise for volunteers and partners who are working together to tackle food poverty in Flintshire.
He added that more had to be done to educate people on how to make the most of the food they have – and encouraged greater education around food management and preparation in schools.
“We get some great help from Flintshire County Council and beyond through our partners,” he said. “Flintshire Food Bank helps us out with sanitary products and we have a Wednesday Club funded through Flintshire County Council.
“The Well Fed mobile shop which sells, among other things, slow cooker meal bags highlights the excellent work that we’re doing but it also highlights the fact that there’s far too many people out there who don’t know how to cook a proper meal.
“I do believe we’ve got to bring home economics back into schools properly to teach people how to cook when they are younger because there’s a lot of people out there who believe the meal you put on the table has to be a ready-made meal. It’s far cheaper, more economical and healthier to cook that meal yourself.”
By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter
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