We want to facilitate a shift away from current emergency food aid models reliant on food charity towards approaches that build long-term community food resilience. We have written this guide to unpick and understand what a path to building community resilience in the UK could look like, focusing on the role of community food organisations. It is the result of a 2-year programme hosted by the Food Ethics Council to co-develop long-term strategies to address household food insecurity in the UK, using the food citizenship framework as a guide.
During 2020 and 2021, we at the Food Ethics Council hosted workshops and discussions with organisations working in the context of emergency food aid in Sheffield. We also conducted interviews with experts in poverty, social justice and charitable food aid. Building on our own knowledge and experience in complexity-led design, systems change, and food citizenship, we explored the challenges faced by organisations tackling hunger, hardship and injustice, and the innovative approaches which have helped them.
The guide has insights, tools, case studies and more. It does not claim to have all the answers, but we hope it will stimulate different ways of thinking about addressing food and poverty and provoke people to try out different approaches.
“Giving food without considering the structural reasons ‘why’ food is needed is a never-ending battle. Building community resilience using food is a critical part of the puzzle to end hunger in communities and eradicate poverty. Food is a powerful tool for social change.”
Please join in the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #CommunityFoodResilience and let us know what you think.