Braintree District Council provides further funding to Braintree Area Foodbank

Braintree District Council has awarded further funding to Braintree Area Foodbank from its £1m Cost of Living Fund.

The Council have provided one year grant funding of £88,900 towards the cost of procuring food and essentials, delivering a lived experience project and the provision of technology for signposting clients to support.

Over the past two years, Braintree Area Foodbank has experienced a huge demand for their services. Twice as many parcels were given out in the financial year 2023-2024 than in 2019 to 2020.

Half of the households they supported in 2023-2024 were reaching out for the first time, this was in addition to continued support to a growing number of regular users.

Braintree Area Foodbank were previously awarded £98,951 in 2023 from the Cost of Living Fund to set up a dist

ribution centre in Braintree town centre, Food & More. The centre is open on Saturdays to the public and is available for partners needing the space to support their customers. The funding also went towards extra staff to deliver food parcels to the outlying rural areas and ongoing vehicle costs as well as employing a Community Outreach Officer.

Cllr Mary Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, said: “The Cost of Living Crisis continues to put a strain on individuals and families in the district and the sharp increase in use of Braintree Area Foodbank shows this is a vital resource for the community. This funding will allow them to continue to provide this much needed service.”

Vanessa Green, Communications Manager at Braintree Area Foodbank, said: “Everyday people are in crisis due to the financial challenges they face. We know that the food, which was once donated, is needed now for each household to survive. This further funding from Braintree District Council will enable us to continue to fight food poverty in the district.”

So far, over £360,000 has been spent from the £1m Cost of Living Fund to fund a range of initiatives including community support groups, subsidised sport access and electric blankets for vulnerable residents.

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