Council set to back funding boost for Wrexham Foodbank amidst cost of living crisis

Wrexham Council looks set to allocate funds to help Wrexham Foodbank expand its work during the cost of living crisis.

The Executive Board will meet on Tuesday, December 12 to discuss the cost of living crisis and funding to be given out in 2023/24.

For this period, the Welsh Government has announced funding for specific schemes to support residents in response to the cost of living crisis.

The funding is therefore administered to local authorities through the Welsh Local Government Association and is specifically targeted at food poverty and access to warm spaces.

For the 2023/24 period the following is available for Wrexham:

• £100,900 Food Partnership Funding
• £45,433 Direct Food Support Grant
• £5,555 retained balance from 2022/23 period

Combining all of the Direct Food Support Grant, and the retained balance from 2022/23, there is a total of £50,988 available for use.

A report which will be presented to the Board said: “The funding has been considered by the Working Group at its meeting of 13 November 2023 and its recommendation is to award the full amount of £50,988 (revenue) to Wrexham FoodBank in order to enhance its services during the remainder of the 2023/24 period.

“The specific use of the funds will be negotiated but will be directed to support the following elements of the grant purposes.

“Collaboration with other providers in Wrexham County Borough will be encouraged.”

Speaking at a media brief earlier this week, Deputy Leader of Wrexham Council, Cllr David Bithell, said: “The foodbank does so much more.

“They assist people with help and support, they deliver food, they give advice and they liaise with Citizens Advice – they encompass a lot of work.”

The report also outlines that the funding should support community food organisations to purchase additional supplies of good quality food and essential goods, boosting their capacity to meet the needs of their customers.

It should also provide “specialist support for initiatives such as outreach work, training for volunteers (e.g. food handling qualifications) and to build community resilience through the development of community hubs which co-locate a range of support services such as money and housing advice, built around community food provision such as food banks, community cafes and pantries”.

Lastly, the funding should “support community food organisations that are experiencing difficulties in operating effectively.

“This may relate to, for example but not limited to, expenses such as overhead costs, volunteer expenses or support to meet additional costs incurred as a result of increased demand such as those relating to additional deliveries”.

By Emily Ash – BBC Local Democracy Reporter and Wrexham.com