Wolverhampton has been awarded £222,000 from the Government's Good Food Neighbourhoods funding scheme. The money is part of almost £10 million distributed to 45 local authorities in England to improve access to healthy and affordable food in areas with high deprivation and childhood obesity.
How the funding will be used
The council plans to use the grant to support initiatives including community food shops, mobile greengrocers, lunch clubs, community kitchens, and cooking and nutrition programmes. The funding will also help the local authority strengthen its capacity to plan for and meet local food needs.
The scheme aligns with Wolverhampton's Financial Wellbeing Strategy and its goals to support children to grow healthily, maintain a healthy weight, reduce poverty, and improve access to affordable healthy food.
Existing food programmes
Wolverhampton already runs Pocket to Plate, an established food programme with a network of community shops, community chefs teaching cooking skills, online weekly recipes, and a community kitchen. The council also highlighted Gatis Community Space — Wolves Waste Not — which saves tonnes of food from waste each month by collecting from supermarkets and distributing at community markets.
The additional funding will enable the council and its partners to continue and expand these projects, developing a city-wide Good Food Network through Pocket to Plate to ensure no household experiences food insecurity.
Councillor Stephen Simkins, Leader of the council, said the funding would build on existing work with partners to help residents access good quality food at low prices. He added the council is pursuing an ambitious agenda to support all children to grow healthily and maintain a healthy weight.