New 'food clubs' across Mansfield to help residents at risk of facing hunger

A number of ‘food clubs’ are being set up in priority neighbourhoods across Mansfield to help the growing number of families who are at risk of facing hunger.
The FOOD clubs will offer affordable food parcels to those who need them in Mansfield.The FOOD clubs will offer affordable food parcels to those who need them in Mansfield.
The FOOD clubs will offer affordable food parcels to those who need them in Mansfield.

National reports have shown that the number of people facing food insecurity as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has increased four-fold.

In Mansfield it means hundreds of residents are struggling to put food on the table.

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As part of the humanitarian response to the pandemic, Mansfield District Council has agreed to contribute £7,800 towards the cost of setting up ‘Food On Our Doorsteps’ (FOOD) clubs, which would give vulnerable people access to excess food destined for landfill at a vastly reduced cost.

The council is now working with Family Action and FareShare to set up clubs in the Bellamy Road area and the Oaktree Lane area, supported by the local ward councillors councillor John Smart and councillor Vaughan Hopewell.

The third trial area will be determined in due course.Councillor Amanda Fisher, portfolio holder for communities and wellbeing, said: "The Food Foundation commissioned a survey in April which found that more than three million people reported going hungry in the first three weeks of the coronavirus lockdown.

"It highlighted that the number of adults who are food insecure in Britain is estimated to have quadrupled under the lockdown.

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"The Trussell Trust, which is responsible for nearly half the food banks in Nottinghamshire, reported an 81 per cent increase in people needing support from food banks at the end of March compared with the same time last year and demand for food parcels from families with children has increased by 121 per cent.

"This situation is only likely to continue or even get worse as the furlough scheme is withdrawn later this year and more and more people find themselves without a job. So we want to be prepared for that and support those families already in need in Mansfield.

"We just don't want to see people choosing between heating or eating as the autumn and winter approach."

The schemes work on the basis of membership. Each household pays £1 annually to join and then pays £3.50 a week to gain access to the food parcels which contain around £15 worth of fresh nutritious food for each member.