Partner Article

WV10 Consortium score ‘Feed Our Pack’ backing with 200 local families set to benefit

More than 200 families in Bushbury and Low Hill will benefit from vital food and drink parcels after the WV10 Consortium netted a nine-month partnership with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The group of local community groups and organisations has been selected as the latest recipient of Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation’s pioneering ‘Feed Our Pack’ initiative and will now receive three pallet loads of essential supplies.

An initial delivery was received on Wednesday and included a blend of food items, including rice, pasta, couscous, sauces, cereals, tinned fish, fruit, chocolate and crisps.

Families will be able to access these at the Big Venture Centre and through a referral scheme for adults and children who are relying on food banks to get access to food and drink.

There are also plans to use some of the supplies as part of the WV10 Consortium’s Life after the Food Bank programme, where individuals are given cooking classes and examples of how they can feed their family for less than £40 per week.

Kim Payne, Director of Community Action & Training Services and Partnership Manager at WV10 Consortium, commented: “Bushbury and Low Hill are two areas that have the highest number of postcodes per ward using a foodbank or food referral service and we are already delivering more than 300 meals every week.

“Our partnership with Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Feed Our Pack initiative is a really important step forward for our area and gives us the ability to support 100s of additional families who, through the pandemic and high cost of living, have found themselves struggling to access food.”

The first pallet is being delivered by His Church, an emergency goods redistribution charity that provides food and supplies to those who need it most.

It works with major leading brands, including Asda, Kellog’s, Morrisons and McDonald’s, to repurpose surplus or residual food and goods to local community groups and areas and has set itself a target to deliver more than 200,000 meals every week.

Kim went on to add: “This is a wonderful, ethical service and one that is going to make such a difference to people in Wolverhampton.

“We have been guaranteed three pallets over nine months, but this is just the start. It has also opened the possibility of a new partnership we can explore with His Church to give us regular access to their stocks.

“The idea is to ask for donations for our first tranche of supplies where possible and these will be used to get regular deliveries once the Feed Our Pack allocation has run out – contributions from local businesses are also welcome.”

Ollie Locker, Food Poverty Project Manager at Wolverhampton Wanderers, added his support:

“As an organisation, we strongly believe that as a community we are ‘One Pack’ and the WV10 consortium really reflects that message because it is run by local residents for local residents and works collaboratively to address people in need.

“Feed Our Pack is now helping local foodbanks provide an additional 60,000 meals a year, an overall increase of 30% in food being distributed via foodbanks across Wolverhampton.”

He concluded: “The fundraising of Wolves supporters over the last 12 months and now the donations of food on a matchday have made such a positive impact on how we can deliver and plan for the future. It has also ensured we go into the second year of Feed Our Pack knowing we can extend the project to try and help even more people emerge from these difficult times. “

WV10 Consortium is made up of several strategic partners, including Big Local Venture Centre, Bushbury Hill Estate Management Board, Bushbury Community Action Group, Low Hill Community Hub, Park Village Education Centre, SBH Partnership, Stratton Street Community Centre and The Women & Families Resource Centre.

It provides a broad range of support via peers with lived experience and, over the last six years, has delivered nearly £3m of funded projects, ranging from HeadStart and Bushbury Buddies to Rock School and Community Hub funds.

For further information, please follow WV10 Consortium on Facebook.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .