BSWN Launches Pilot Food Hub Programme
Addressing the Needs of the Community
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We are delighted to be involved in this timely and much needed initiative, aimed at creating capacity and space for the Black and Minoritised sector to directly tackle the striking impact the Cost-of-Living is having on people’s lives. Our latest research highlighted that 75% of Black and Minoritised respondents in Bristol are now struggling to afford essential items due to the crisis, with food being at the top of the list. BSWN is proud to work on a response with our long-standing partners supported to provide culturally appropriate and healthy food through the Food Hub Consortium initiative.
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BSWN, is pleased to announce the launch of a 3-month pilot initiative aimed at tackling food poverty in Black and Minoritised communities, funded by Quartet Community Foundation. This pilot has been developed in partnership with Jikoni at the Coach House CIC. Both BSWN and Jikoni are situated at the Coach House in St. Paul’s, with existing kitchen facilities in the café for preparation of hot meals for the Food hub project pilot. The prepared hot meals will be delivered through three local Black-led organisations, Bristol Youth Horn Concern, Bristol Black Carers, and St Nicolas of Tolentino RC Church who have already identified carers, refugees and families at risk or experiencing food poverty and will distribute the hot meals based on a need assessment.
Photograph of James Hillier and Iman Salat, owners of Jikoni East Africa.
The Need for Food Provision Programming
The past three years have seen a sharp rise in socioeconomic disparities within the UK, attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, and the Russo-Ukrainian War. A report by the Office of National Statistics in December 2022 highlighted the adverse effects of food price inflation on society's most vulnerable, particularly those with lower incomes. In the most deprived areas of the UK, 61% of individuals reported purchasing less food compared to the previous year, compared to 44% in the least deprived areas. Black and Minoritised communities in Bristol have been particularly affected, with 75% of respondents struggling to afford basic items and 55% facing explicit difficulties in accessing food and groceries (BSWN, 2023).
“At Bristol Black Carers it is our privilege to be able to work alongside Jikoni in the delivery of their food on Fridays. Our clients have been grateful for the weekly meal they have been receiving which has been a welcoming relief for the majority of them.”
Image taken at the Malcolm X Centre in 2021 during the Food Hub Consortium.
In the period spanning from 2020 to 2021, BSWN successfully established a collaborative network consisting of seven local organisations, as well as Feeding Bristol and FareShare South West. Through this initiative, it was acknowledged that there was a scarcity of culturally appropriate food parcels and a need for services that catered to hard-to-reach local communities. To address this, BSWN coordinated the Food Hub Consortium, funded by Quartet Community Foundation. This consortium made a significant impact by assisting 5,455 individuals, distributing 35.8 tonnes of food, and facilitating over 78,000 meals for Black and Minoritised households throughout a nine-month duration.
Now in 2023, BSWN continues addressing food poverty with this much needed project which will seek to deliver a total of 1,800 hot meals during the pilot phase, providing 150 culturally appropriate meals per weekto Black and Minoritised households.
Image of Iman Salat, one of the owners of Jikoni East Africa preparing food.