The council is relaunching their Food Champion scheme in partnership with Street Associations and local foodbanks, where residents are invited to set up a food collection service for tinned and dry food in their own road or street.
To help increase collections, Food Champions are encouraged to coordinate monthly food drops within their street or even their place of work and deliver these directly to the foodbanks. Once delivered, the vital provisions will help make up food parcels for vulnerable local individuals and families which will be distributed by the foodbanks direct.
Chiltern Foodbank, Aylesbury Vineyard Storehouse and Burnham Care & Share are all currently participating in the Food Champions scheme, and the council are also working with One Can Trust to promote their own Street Heroes programme to encourage residents from the High Wycombe, Marlow and South Buckinghamshire areas to get involved – to help increase donations up and down the county.
Jo Belshaw, One Can Trust, commented:
"The One Can Trust Street Hero initiative was borne during the first lockdown and provided a staggering 90% of all donated food at the time. The community enthusiasm and kindness was incredible and so hugely appreciated by the many vulnerable families in our local community who we were supporting at the time. To this day, our Street Heroes are a vital source of food and as demand is set to increase further still, we very much welcome the opportunity to work with new Street Heroes."
To find out more about the Food Champions scheme – or to set up a scheme in your street – visit: buckinghamshire.gov.uk/food-champions
Residents struggling to afford food can locate and contact their local foodbank by going to: buckinghamshire.gov.uk/cost-of-living
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