Cost of living support package brings some relief but more action is needed
The new package of measures announced by the chancellor to help ease pressures on household finances were most welcome and go beyond what many were expecting to see. They have taken the advice of many charities and experts to use the benefits system to target support at the most vulnerable. However, with average energy bills expected to rise from £1277 to £2800 in the Autumn many households will still struggle. The issue of growing hardship and poverty will not be solved overnight, there are still big changes we need to see in the way our systems support people and the unhelpful narratives often levelled against those who are struggling.
All the usual updates below including details of an open letter, co-signed by many Shropshire based organisations, calling for calling for a commitment to long term support for the most vulnerable during a crisis which could last for years. If you would like to add your organisation’s voice to this letter, full details are below.
SFPA updates
Open letter to national Government on the cost-of-living crisis
We have produced a letter, currently co-signed by Citizens Advice Shropshire, Age UK Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, the Shropshire Good Food Partnership, Marches Energy Agency, Community Resource and several local food banks, calling on national Government to do more for people in the county on the cost of living.
We believe it is important that, whilst we are all working hard to do everything we can at a local level to help people, we recognise and advocate for the need for more intervention from central Government to properly address the scale of this crisis.
The letter makes specific requests of the government that the signatories believe will benefit Shropshire as well as pushing back against some of the toxic narratives around those on low incomes. You can read the full letter here.
Any organisation or community leader can sign this letter. Contact Sophie Padgett directly at SophiePadgett@cabshropshire.org.uk to do so.
Living in poverty has the most obvious impact of reducing your ability to buy the material goods needed for a reasonable standard of life such as food, shelter and clothing, but it is in understanding the implications of this that lets us understand why this is such a pressing issue.
Our new fact file brings together research on who is at an increased risk of living in poverty, poverty's impact on a health, wellbeing, educational attainment and life prospects, the real yet often hidden issue of rural poverty and why it is so vital that we centre the voices of those with lived experience of poverty.
You can access the fact file on our website here.
Healthy Food For All Working Group- Shropshire Good Food Partnership
We are delighted to be working closely with the Shropshire Good Food Partnership to lead their Healthy Food For All working group. The partnership aims to take a wholistic approach the problems within our food system and has different people championing different areas of work.
With the help of key organisations and projects, we’d like to use the Healthy Food For All working group to work together to map the work already going on in the county to increase access to good food and explore the ways we can maximise the impact of this.
We’d like to capture best practice and all the amazing examples of what is already going on, as well as identify willingness to set up new projects/ expand existing ones/ explore potential funding opportunities.
You can read more and register your interest in joining the group here.
Shropshire News
Full job details at link below.
Closing date 20/06/2022
Church volunteers cook up new project to help those struggling to make ends meet
A new project at St Andrews church in Shifnal using food that would otherwise go to waste is collected from the local supermarket along with discounted meat from the local butchers. A menu is then cooked and served on Friday afternoons for £2.50 per head.
Oswestry Food Bank talk about the rising demand and the need to stop food bank use becoming normalised. Full article here.
Brighter Futures Network- Working together for Shropshire’s Children and Families
A collaborative event bringing together professionals from across the county passionate about working together to build a brighter future for Shropshire’s next generation.
Monday 27th June, 9am-5pm
Shrewsbury Football club
Register for the event here
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