The report Helping the Most Vulnerable Families with Access to Food During COVID-19 by GFO intern Bella Driessen and Fiona Steel examines the impact of our recent Play:Full pilot which aimed to help families to get involved in fun healthy cooking activities during lockdown. The report also evaluates our Food Poverty Training, which reached over 120 participants from 55 organisations, and the increased reach of the Oxfordshire Community Food Services Map.
Since the start of the pandemic, Good Food Oxford has collaborated with Growing Minds, Homestart and Cutteslowe Larder to deliver the Play:Full Project in Cutteslowe and Littlemore. Across the 2 locations over 60 families received weekly recipe bags for six weeks, along with enrichment activities such as tomato growing kits and books and games to get kids excited about cooking and growing food. Good Food Oxford also provided information leaflets including the Good Food Cooking Toolkit as well as several pieces of cooking equipment to participating families.
“I hope the scheme grows. I think it is a really useful resource for families who may not know how to shop within a budget and prepare family meals.”
Headteacher of a local school referring to the Play:Full Project.
Good Food Oxford delivered ten sessions of Food Poverty Training to over 120 staff and volunteers from community foodbanks, larders, fridges and other food services between November 2020 and January 2021. The content included understanding food poverty, dignity, having conversations about food, nutrition and infant feeding, Healthy Start Vouchers, Free School Meals and sign-posting to other support services. A Food Insecurity Toolkit was created as a guide for recognising and responding to food insecurity, and training attendees received copies of it.
“Very clear and informative training – really helpful and interesting to get so much input from people across the board.”
Participant of a food poverty training session delivered by Good Food Oxford in January 2021.
Good Food Oxford has been hosting regular meetings for Community Food Networks (CFNs) in all Districts of Oxfordshire since July 2020. The organisations involved include community food services, the City and District Councils, voluntary groups, and local food businesses. The aims of the Networks are to create a shared understanding of local need, to collaborate across resources, funding and training, and to share best practice whilst connecting the districts to the countywide agenda of establishing a resilient and sustainable food system. All these service providers can be found through the Oxfordshire Community Food Services Map.
Download the full report Helping the Most Vulnerable Families with Access to Food During COVID-19 or view all GFO reports on our Research page.
