Northamptonshire group shares how food aid is typically centralised around big towns, leaving rural communities forgotten

One community group has spoken out about just how beneficial they believe Northamptonshire Community Foundation’s investment in rural communities will be – having already reaped previous benefits themselves.

As previously reported by this newspaper, NCF and its stakeholders have investigated the pressing challenges experienced by rural communities across the county.

The aim was to shed light on the issues of rural poverty, food insecurity and limited access to essential services that these residents face on a daily basis.

The hope now is that awareness can be raised to inspire action, and a dedicated funding appeal was launched to make a difference.

The summary of the report reads: “By tackling rural poverty, promoting food security, and improving access to essential services, we can contribute to a more inclusive and resilient Northamptonshire.

“Together, we can bridge the divide and empower rural communities to thrive.”

With a dedicated funding pot, which NCF hopes will reach £200,000, they want to address the urgent needs of these communities by matching the amount raised pound-for-pound.

The impactful initiatives that could be helped include greening a community, empowering young people through youth groups, and improving community hubs – such as village halls, shops and pubs.

The South Northants Volunteer Bureau (SNVB) is one of the groups that has benefited from NCF’s previous funding pots.

SNVB, a registered charity, is committed to supporting the voluntary and community sector in South Northants by providing information, guidance and community services to improve lives.

The bureau was awarded more than £1,700 from the Family Food Aid Fund more than a year ago, to provide supplies for breakfast and after school clubs across South Northants and Daventry.

The grant supported 30 children who were attending school having not eaten breakfast, which severely impacted their ability to concentrate.

Katie Steele, the coordinator of SNVB’s Towcester Community Larder, spoke to this newspaper about how SNVB has benefited from NCF’s funding and how she believes the new appeal will help rural communities.

Talking about more recent grants that SNVB has been awarded from NCF, Katie shared how funding has enabled them to continue their important food aid and support work.

With the SNVB community larders situated in Towcester and Roade, the team of staff and volunteers also provide food aid to the surrounding rural villages across South Northants.

The funding is used in line with the larders’ larger model of spending money on surplus food that would otherwise go to waste – namely from FareShare and SOFEA.

An element is also spent within local supermarkets, to ensure it is not just highly perishable goods that are being provided to the communities.

Through their network of delivery drivers, food is transported to those in rural areas that have trouble accessing it due to a lack of transport links or being physically unable to.

“We used to do pop up larders,” said Katie. “But we found in smaller, rural communities that it was not communally viable.

“We cover villages on an individual basis, all the way from Potterspury to Tiffield and Litchborough. We cover rural areas across the whole of South Northamptonshire.”

Katie shared how food aid is often “centralised around big cities and towns”, which often leaves rural communities forgotten.

“There may be no public transport for them to access food aid,” said Katie. “So we make sure those people and villages get support via our central network.”

Katie described the support from NCF as “amazing”, particularly as “the cost of living crisis has deepened and they are having to support more people”.

The SNVB community larders have more recently benefited from the ‘household support fund grant’, issued by NCF and West Northamptonshire Council.

The Hope Centre distributed this funding to all food agencies across the county – which has helped the SNVB community larders continue supporting more than 900 people per week as one of the biggest food aid agencies in South Northants.

When asked about NCF’s newest rural needs appeal, Katie says the money would be “essential” to continue purchasing the amount of food they need to meet demand.

As SNVB is a relatively small charity with low overheads due to the generosity of volunteers, the majority of funds can be boosted back into the purchasing of food.

Despite this, Katie would like to see money from the rural needs appeal invested in overhead costs too.

She shared that many grants do not cover them, including volunteer expenses, staffing, mileage, premises, vehicles, and the logistics behind getting the food out to the rural communities.

For more information on NCF’s rural needs appeal, and to make a donation that will benefit charities like SNVB, click here.