Shropshire Council receives £300,000 grant funding to tackle food insecurity  

Shropshire Council is delighted to have been awarded £300,000 over the next three years to tackle food insecurity in south west Shropshire.  

A project group formed of Shropshire Council public health, Healthwatch Shropshire, Citizens Advice Shropshire and the Shropshire Food Poverty Alliance secured an initial grant of £20,000 to enable in-depth research around the reasons for local food insecurity.  

A key element of the research of talking to individuals and families who had experience of living without access to affordable, nutritious food. The full report will be available on the Healthwatch Shropshire website soon.   

Following the submission of a detailed plan, Shropshire was one of the final five council areas selected to receive grant funding.  

Shaping Places for Healthier Lives – food insecurity project

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said: - 

“The research carried out by the project group has been thorough, and demonstrated to the LGA and Health Foundation that the plan to tackle food insecurity in south west Shropshire is worthy of investment. Rural areas are not always perceived as places of need, so I am so pleased that this funding can be used to help our south west community and bring benefits to the whole of Shropshire.”  

Berni Lee, consultant in public health, and project group lead, said: - 

“The work of the group to secure this funding has been amazing, and we want to thank all those who gave their time to participate in the research process. Food insecurity affects people’s lives in so many ways, including physically through hunger, and mentally through the stress of not being able to afford to feed themselves and/or their family. We are looking forward to taking this work forward and making a difference to people’s lives.”  

Further information 

Shaping Places for Healthier Lives: About the grant programme  

Shaping Places for Healthier Lives funds strong local partnership projects that aim to make changes to local systems that will encourage better physical and mental health, and that will be sustained beyond the lifetime of the grant programme. Shaping Places for Healthier Lives: About the programme | Local Government Association  

This project is part of the Shaping Places for Healthier Lives programme supported by the Health Foundation in partnership with the Local Government Association. The programme provides local councils with funding to work with partners from their local area to improve health and address health inequalities. The Health Foundation is an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK. The LGA is the national voice of local government, working with councils to support, promote and improve.