We've Partnered with Black South West Network To Address Food Poverty
Black South West Network has announced the launch of a 3-month pilot initiative aimed at tackling food poverty in Black and Minoritised communities, funded by Quartet Community Foundation.
This pilot has been developed in partnership with Jikoni at the Coach House CIC.
Both Black South West Network and Jikoni are situated at the Coach House in St. Paul’s, with existing kitchen facilities in the café for preparation of hot meals for the Food hub project pilot.
The prepared hot meals will be delivered by our team at Bristol Black Carers, alongside two local Black-led organisations; Bristol Youth Horn Concern and St Nicolas of Tolentino RC Church who have already identified carers, refugees and families at risk or experiencing food poverty and will distribute the hot meals based on a need assessment.
The need for food provision programming
The past three years have seen a sharp rise in socioeconomic disparities within the UK, attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, and the Russo-Ukrainian War. A report by the Office of National Statistics in December 2022 highlighted the adverse effects of food price inflation on society's most vulnerable, particularly those with lower incomes.
In the most deprived areas of the UK, 61% of individuals reported purchasing less food compared to the previous year, compared to 44% in the least deprived areas. Black and Minoritised communities in Bristol have been particularly affected, with 75% of respondents struggling to afford basic items and 55% facing explicit difficulties in accessing food and groceries (BSWN, 2023).
At Bristol Black Carers it is our privilege to be able to work alongside Jikoni in the delivery of their food on Fridays. Our clients have been grateful for the weekly meal they have been receiving which has been a welcoming relief for the majority of them.
- Anndeloris Chacon
With this much needed project, we collectively aim to deliver a total of 1,800 hot meals during the pilot phase, providing 150 culturally appropriate meals per week to Black and Minoritised households.