Payback Pathways to Healthy Eating and Food Security

 Food poverty exacerbated by the cost-of-living-crisis is a growing problem across the UK. New initiatives are therefore needed to bridge the resulting food gap. In 2022 we used Awards for All funding to do this by enlisting Probation Services Community Payback Teams (CP) to set up and run community growing spaces. This provided a model of good practice for combating food poverty by growing fresh food for donation to pantries https://www.yourlocalpantry.co.uk

This was a great success but one of the key lessons learnt was that just growing fresh food is not enough. Often people in food poverty are not equipped to use fresh foods to create healthy meals and are thrown back onto reliance on cheap unhealthy ready meals eg surplus potatoes  swapped for tins of beans and other ultra processed foods. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/02/uk-families-eating-less-healthily-due-to-cost-of-living crisis#:~:text=Overall%2C%2061%25%20said%20the%20cost;due%20to%20stress%20(15%25)

 This reliance on cheap unhealthy foods has negative impacts. 1) it increases obesity rates in the UK https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/25/england-obesity-report-analysis 2) The production of the cheap meats that are often used is contributing to the problem of climate change. https://www.gfi.org/resource/a-global-protein-transition-is-necessary-to-keep-warming-below-1-5c/

So we will now  build a model of good practice that not only continues CP-supported healthy fresh food production, but also processes it into healthy ready meals prepared by CP teams and distributed through Pantries. CP teams will also be trained in mushroom cultivation to replace the use of cheap meat in the ready meals. Mushrooms provide all the same necessary proteins as meat, but don’t have the same carbon footprint associated with production of cheap meat. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/oyster-mushroom-benefits#4.-May-promote-blood-sugar-regulation During Covid ready meals were produced by community kitchens but this stopped at the end of lockdown due to lack of volunteers and supplies. The cost-of-living-crisis means they are needed again to combat food poverty, so we’ll reopen these facilities and begin by producing 100 meals per week over 3 sites.

Awards For All Logo

 Food poverty exacerbated by the cost-of-living-crisis is a growing problem across the UK. New initiatives are therefore needed to bridge the resulting food gap. In 2022 we used Awards for All funding to do this by enlisting Probation Services Community Payback Teams (CP) to set up and run community growing spaces. This provided a model of good practice for combating food poverty by growing fresh food for donation to pantries https://www.yourlocalpantry.co.uk

This was a great success but one of the key lessons learnt was that just growing fresh food is not enough. Often people in food poverty are not equipped to use fresh foods to create healthy meals and are thrown back onto reliance on cheap unhealthy ready meals eg surplus potatoes  swapped for tins of beans and other ultra processed foods. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/02/uk-families-eating-less-healthily-due-to-cost-of-living crisis#:~:text=Overall%2C%2061%25%20said%20the%20cost;due%20to%20stress%20(15%25)

 This reliance on cheap unhealthy foods has negative impacts. 1) it increases obesity rates in the UK https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/25/england-obesity-report-analysis 2) The production of the cheap meats that are often used is contributing to the problem of climate change. https://www.gfi.org/resource/a-global-protein-transition-is-necessary-to-keep-warming-below-1-5c/

So we will now  build a model of good practice that not only continues CP-supported healthy fresh food production, but also processes it into healthy ready meals prepared by CP teams and distributed through Pantries. CP teams will also be trained in mushroom cultivation to replace the use of cheap meat in the ready meals. Mushrooms provide all the same necessary proteins as meat, but don’t have the same carbon footprint associated with production of cheap meat. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/oyster-mushroom-benefits#4.-May-promote-blood-sugar-regulation During Covid ready meals were produced by community kitchens but this stopped at the end of lockdown due to lack of volunteers and supplies. The cost-of-living-crisis means they are needed again to combat food poverty, so we’ll reopen these facilities and begin by producing 100 meals per week over 3 sites.

Leeks growing for the food banks

In 2022 Nornir helped to set up a new Social Enterprise called Egino Emerging. Egino works in HMPPS Accredited Premises in North Wales supporting the prisoners with their adjustments to being released.

Volunteers who are ex prisoners them selves have established gardens at the AP and have grown food for themselves and donated the surpluses to local Food Pantries.

Part of the work has involved setting up organic fertiliser production called vermiculture through the building of wormeries. This uses worms to eat waste products and turn it into fertiliser that can then be used back in the gardens.

Training books on how to set up a wormery has been written and can be read on the Egino web site at: https://www.eginoemerging.org/post/how-to-start-worm-farming-in-wales-community-gardens

Or you can download the book for free from the link below.

https://books2read.com/u/bWYP5D

There is also a Welsh Language version of the book at:

https://books2read.com/u/bp1KXJ

Presentations from attendees

We attended a Stockport Food Partnership Event at the Masonic Hall Stockport on 14 November 2023.

A short presentation was made to about 20 local community food growing organisations and a range of healthcare/community staff as well as regeneration officers from the Council. Officer from Manchester City Council were also present with an aim to swap good practice.

We explained about the GMCV funding and how the model we are trying to roll out the model we have developed in Marple. Community Payback people are currently working not only at our site in Marple but also in Brinnington where they work 6 days a week.

Ground work progress

We have been busy working on 2 aspects of the project.

 a)    Developing the model.

One of the key results from our initial research and scoping exercise has been our finding that pantries and other ‘austerity retail’ initiatives in Stockport and beyond  have an urgent need for regular donations  of  good quality nutritious ready meals to supplement their dwindling supplies of surplus food.

 We have therefore reconfigured the project to focus on community payback grown fresh produce for the production of ready meals for donation to pantries and for sale in commercial markets  to generate funds for the pantries – supplementing their  dwindling supplies of  surplus food with non surplus ready meals and generating funds to buy-in non-surplus food supplies to do likewise.

 We have formed a project board co-chaired by ourselves and greater Manchester probation in order to pilot this new model in Stockport and then deliver a staged roll out across greater Manchester, working with people on probation to grow fresh produce and manufacture ready meals for donation to austerity retail initiatives and for sale to raise funds for them.

 b)    Project Development in Stockport

The Garden House partnership with the Community Payback Scheme has been a hugely positive relationship so far. The work team arrive on site promptly each week and get stuck in to the day's tasks, completing what is asked and using skills to ensure everything is to a high standard. The work team communicate well with Kevin and The Garden House volunteers. A key positive is the overall sense of responsibility and forward thinking as they plan out the garden plot, and are able to see progress as the weeks go on. This is testament to the team as this initial stage is very labour intensive. 

 It’s manual work, outside, completed in all weathers. The work team communicate with Marple volunteers to adapt and problem solve, considering practical ways of ensuring the community garden will be user-friendly. This partnership has increased manpower and generated ideas to enable us to progress the project quickly. 

 The next stage of the project is crucial to both the community garden and its volunteers. With the infrastructure in place, the true transformation will occur during the planting and growing season. It is especially important to us as a charity supporting people with mental and physical health challenges, or disadvantaged for socio-economic reasons that our volunteers can see the results and impact of their labour as an important reflection on their personal achievements and progress. Having seen the progress and commitment shown by the Community Pay Back team it would be hugely beneficial for the workers to be involved in the next stages and beyond as the garden comes to life and brings joy to growers and volunteers.