M&S Longwater Norwich

Food and Beverage Buggies (FABB) was a group dedicated to taking a hot 2 course meal, drinks, and sandwich bags for the next day out to the Homeless in Norwich, finding them in their doorways, cemeteries, wherever they were. This supplemented the existing work being done by 4 soup kitchen groups at the Haymarket, but filled a very vital mid-week need. Our buggies were filled with food, drinks, warm clothing, boots, sleeping bags etc, and we were out every Thursday, 52 weeks a year, from 7-9pm. During Covid FABB of necessity diversified to meet a growing need in schools and local families, where Covid had taken it's toll. Many families with young children were struggling to make ends meet, often due to job losses and furloughed reduced wages. School age children were going into schools hungry and not able to concentrate fully on lessons. Food poverty and food insecurity was rife, and FABB worked with 2 local schools and 15+ families to take food deliveries into schools to distribute, and taking essential food parcels to the families. This was much needed and appreciated, and we'll carry on as long as there is a hungry child or adult in our community. As the rules were reduced and the country went back to 'normal' FABB found that food poverty was still rife and we concentrated our efforts to help families in distress and hostel residents fighting their pathway back to a home of their own. Food parcels are delivered weekly to families for as long as they are needed, by the same volunteer to build trust. We deliver to doorsteps as most families have no car to collect, and many are housebound. We now deliver weekly to up to 60 families. We cook for a ladies hostel of 31 residents several times a week. Regular food times, combined with good nutrition show a marked improvement in social, mental and physical wellbeing.

The surplus food will benefit members of our community accessing the Community Cafe. In addition, any unused surplus will support our cooking workshops, providing free places for children and parents. Excess items will be available to the community for free through our community fridge. We foster an open, honest relationship, trusting that those seeking support are in genuine need. We avoid income and expenditure forms to eliminate barriers, recognising the difficulty in seeking help. Our group operates from a venue supported by a local parish council, offering reduced rates. We're actively seeking permanent premises for our community cafe hub and cooking workshop area. While our cafe offers affordable rates, surplus food is given away for free or used in free cooking workshops for the community and children. Currently, our focus is on food support, but we're developing additional initiatives set to launch in 2024. As a new community cafe, we're not currently collecting surplus from other retailers, but we've recognised the demand and are exploring partnerships. We host a weekly pop up community cafe at The Rackheath Pavillion in Norwich and we are in the process of launching a mobile affordable food hub to visit our surrounding areas. We have self referrals and referrals from local organisations such as local schools, family hubs and help hubs in the area. As a recent initiative, there are no local media articles yet. Currently, we're in the early stages and don't have photographs, but we'll document our progress. We've established a partnership with Broadland County Council, which has supported the launch of our community cafe and cooking workshops. Here's the link to our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/social.moments.enterprise Registered charity - 1205104

At The Limes we have opened a Community Fridge and food bank for the school, and wider, community. We are hoping for regular donation to support our initiative and keep this open for the community. What type of premises do you use for food storage and distribution? A large kitchen/ pantry space in a separate building on our premises. How do you identify recipients for your food distribution service? Staff direct families verbally to use the service. In addition, given the locality we benefit from word of mouth in the community. Do you offer any additional services alongside food distribution? At various points of the year, we also offer: toys, clothing and advertise FISH in the locality. Is there a cost associated with your food distribution service? There is a cost of travel and staffing to us. There is no cost passed on to service users. Do you currently collect surplus food from other retailers or sources? None. Can you share any local press coverage or similar that showcases your food distribution efforts? None, our families tend to prefer our more discreet yet normalised approach, as opposed to media coverage. While we used social media in the early days to promote our donations, we now open on regular slots and are used by the community - therefore, we do not post on social media.