Schemes to tackle food poverty in Mansfield have been shortlisted for a national award.

Since 2020, Mansfield District Council has been operating a series of FOOD (Food On Our Doorstep) clubs across the district.

It has also worked with Nottinghamshire County Council to provide food support for children during school holidays as part of the Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF).

The council’s efforts have been rewarded with a place in the final of best Community Engagement Scheme section at the Municipal Journal Achievement Awards.

David Evans, head of Health and Communities at the council, said: “The council has been central to leading a collaborative approach to addressing food and fuel poverty in this area.

“Problems with food poverty came to the fore during the pandemic and have since been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis.

“The Bellamy estate in Mansfield was particularly badly hit, with many people unemployed or furloughed during the pandemic — and the nearest supermarket was a mile away.”

Initially a Food Share scheme was set up on the estate in a community centre with donations from Warburtons, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and Aldi.

That eventually became the first of six FOOD clubs in the district.

Last year these clubs, operated by the charity Family Action, provided affordable food for 6,756 residents. The clubs work with FareShare to acquire usable unsold food from wholesalers and suppliers that would otherwise be destined for landfill.

This enables the clubs to offer food worth £12 to £15 for just £3.50 to anyone in need. No referral is needed.

The six FOOD clubs are at:

St John’s Centre, St John Street, Mansfield, Tuesdays, 3pm to 5pm.
Bellamy Road FOOD Club, Trowell Court Community Centre, Mansfield, Fridays, 12noon to 2pm.
Crescent School, Booth Crescent, Mansfield, Fridays, 1pm to 3pm.
A Place To Call Our Own (APTCOO FOOD Ltd), APTCOO Learn, Work and Earn Centre, 79 Sandy Lane, Mansfield, Tuesdays, 10am to 12noon.
Mansfield Woodhouse, Meadows Community Centre, Slant Lane, Fridays, 10am to 12noon.
Oak Tree FOOD Club, Oak Tree Lane Surgery, Jubilee Way, Mansfield, Fridays, 12noon to 2pm.

Advice of dealing with the rising cost of living and food insecurity can be found on the council website at https://www.mansfield.gov.uk/costofliving. 

As part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s HAF programme, Mansfield District Council’s nutrition team works with local partners and FareShare to ensure children and young people can enjoy a substantial meal on activity days during school holidays.

The team has helped adapt the way the HAF food is offered, making a change from working with caterers providing hot ready meals or packed lunches, to cooking meals on site.

This means the team can create healthy meals from scratch, often introducing young people to foods that they do not eat at home.

The children are involved in deciding what should be on the menus, based on ingredients provided by FareShare.

The food is then cooked on site and presented in a buffet, so the youngsters can plate it up themselves and try different things.

David Evans explained: “We have found that children eat more food throughout the programme and try a wider variety due to the buffet style.

“These two schemes are among several that were introduced in Mansfield after the council partnered with national charity Feeding Britain in 2020 to set up the Feeding Mansfield Network.”

The Feeding Mansfield Network is a collective of national, regional, and local community and voluntary partners, which drew up a cohesive approach to supporting vulnerable residents.

Other projects include a fuel bank to support residents in fuel poverty and a Crop Drop scheme, linking locally- grown food on allotments to FOOD Clubs and Food Share schemes.