April updates from the SFPA

The world is starting to open back up, we hope you’ve been able to connect safely with some family and friends after a long winter. At the SFPA we’ve been busy working on a number of projects. Below is a full run down of our updates along with links to other Shropshire and UK wide news which may be of interest.

SFPA updates

A Shropshire Food Partnership- Shrewsbury Food Hub are exploring the potential to establish a Shropshire Food Partnership aligned with the Sustainable Food Places approach. They are acting as an incubator for the Shropshire Food Partnership as it defines its role and finds its long-term home. During Spring 2021 they will be carrying out a scoping exercise to engage people, organisations and local government across Shropshire to develop a shared vision for a resilient, sustainable and equitable local food system by 2030. For more information contact jenny@shrewsburyfoohub.org.uk or read our blog post.

Shaping Places For Healthier Lives project ‘Food insecurity in South West Shropshire’ – Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this piece of research. We are really pleased that so many people shared their views and experience. The project team (Public Health, Healthwatch, Citizen’s Advice Shropshire and SFPA) have been analysing all the feedback and are developing a bid for £300,000 from the Local Government Association and Health Foundation. We’ll keep you posted on progress.

Children’s Food Insecurity in Shropshire- we are close to publishing the results of research into children’s food insecurity in Shropshire. We’d like to thank everyone who gave time to this project, and we look forward to sharing our findings with you.

Join the online Food Power Festival from Monday 17 - Thursday 20 May for a four-day celebration filled with workshops, panels, performances and more, all hosted by Sustain and Church Action on Poverty. If you're working to tackle the root causes of food poverty then this event is for you. You can access the draft programme, find the sessions that suit you and get your free ticket today.

Shropshire Updates

• Bishops Castle Food Bank celebrates a year of supporting its community

• 30 per cent of Midlands workers fear their job could be obsolete within five years due to advancing technology.

• Trussell Trust food banks in Shropshire handed out 11,232 emergency food parcels in the period 2020/21.

Other news

• Eviction Ban- the current ban on bailiff-enforced evictions in England is in place until May 31.

• Marcus Rashford calls for FSM to be extended throughout the summer holidays

• Tens of thousands in UK avoided universal credit during Covid over stigma

• BBC’s Countryfile warns of low warns of low-quality food in schools and hospitals

• Covid Realities Project- learnings from the research into people’s lived experience of the crisis so far

• Calls for a Minister for food security and Government consultation on the legal right to food

• Tackle poverty and inequality to reduce crime says police chief

• BFAWU Right to Food Report- many food workers struggling to afford basic food stuffs

• Food Ethics Council launch Food Citizenship Manifesto

• Renters Reform Coalition want to see affordable and secure homes for all

• GPs to prescribe financial advice to people with long term health conditions

• A U-shaped crisis: the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on older workers

• The problem is poverty, however we label it