Councillors agree funding to help foodbanks survive in Stafford

Foodbanks in Stafford Borough are being handed a lifeline after senior councillors agreed to an £11,000 grant.

The councillors heard that foodbanks in the borough were struggling to meet demand and the extra cash would keep them going into next year - when they hope alternative funding sources will be found.

In 2022 Stafford Community Food Distribution Hub Community Interest Company was set up backed by the borough council. The hub takes weekly food deliveries from ‘Fareshare’ and distributes it to six local food banks.

FareShare is the UK’s longest running food redistribution charity with the aim of fighting hunger and tackling food waste. It redistributes surplus food from across the food industry to charities and community groups. But without the additional £11,190 the hub would not be able to continue their partnership with Fareshare.

The hub has provided a total 25 tonnes of additional food - which is around 60,000 meals - in the last couple of years. The latest tranche of funding has come from a pot which was set aside to help communities support vulnerable residents.

A report to the council’s Cabinet said the authority worked with the voluntary sector to set up the Hub which includes six foodbanks - Elim Hope Church in Stafford, Stone Community Hub Frank Jordan Centre, Holmcroft Community Centre and House of Bread in Stafford, Signposts Services foodbank based in the county town’s Rising Brook Community Church, and Staffordshire Women’s Aid.

Councillor Jill Hood, Cabinet Member for Communities, (pictured) said: “Foodbanks have seen a significant increase in demand at a time when there has also been a reduction in the amount of donations from the public - mainly because people are struggling with the rising cost of living, and from supermarkets and shops who are doing more to reduce food waste.

“We hope this cash injection will keep the hub going while we work with them to look at other funding sources to keep a service that is vital to some members of our community going.”

Members of the council’s cabinet agreed to the recommendation to allocate the remaining funding from the ‘Clinically Extremely Vulnerable’ programme to the hub at the meeting this week (Tuesday 7).