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| First community-run 'food pantry' opens in Scotland | First community-run 'food pantry' opens in Scotland |
| (30 days later) | |
| A community-run pantry, believed to be the first of its kind in Scotland, is opening in Aberdeen with the aim of overcoming the stigma of food banks, as campaigners plot a rise in “austerity retail” across the UK offering more sustainable, local solutions to chronic food poverty. | A community-run pantry, believed to be the first of its kind in Scotland, is opening in Aberdeen with the aim of overcoming the stigma of food banks, as campaigners plot a rise in “austerity retail” across the UK offering more sustainable, local solutions to chronic food poverty. |
| Members of the Woodside Pantry will pay an annual fee of £3, then a charge of £2.50 per shop, which allows them to pick 10 items from an array of fresh, frozen and packaged produce. | Members of the Woodside Pantry will pay an annual fee of £3, then a charge of £2.50 per shop, which allows them to pick 10 items from an array of fresh, frozen and packaged produce. |
| Stocked by the food redistribution charity FareShare, the heaving shelves include brightly coloured peppers, branded goods such as Covent Garden soups and Persil washing capsules, as well as frozen sirloin steaks and whole chickens. | Stocked by the food redistribution charity FareShare, the heaving shelves include brightly coloured peppers, branded goods such as Covent Garden soups and Persil washing capsules, as well as frozen sirloin steaks and whole chickens. |
| Registering for membership at this week’s launch event, Emma Duncan had her eye on some lamb shanks and a “massive” cheesecake she spotted in the freezer. | Registering for membership at this week’s launch event, Emma Duncan had her eye on some lamb shanks and a “massive” cheesecake she spotted in the freezer. |
| “The stuff that you can get for £2.50 is amazing. Having grown up in the area and knowing the families round here, it’s going to benefit them so much. | “The stuff that you can get for £2.50 is amazing. Having grown up in the area and knowing the families round here, it’s going to benefit them so much. |
| “It’s great that they have fresh fruit, because that’s so expensive, and its good for school snacks for my daughter. It is difficult on my income, especially at this time of year.” | “It’s great that they have fresh fruit, because that’s so expensive, and its good for school snacks for my daughter. It is difficult on my income, especially at this time of year.” |
| Duncan, 36, works part-time at the after-school club, which is housed in the same community centre as the pantry. “You’d be amazed at the number of people who come in here asking for a food parcel. The pantry doesn’t have the stigma, and if you know the amount you are paying then you can budget for it.” | Duncan, 36, works part-time at the after-school club, which is housed in the same community centre as the pantry. “You’d be amazed at the number of people who come in here asking for a food parcel. The pantry doesn’t have the stigma, and if you know the amount you are paying then you can budget for it.” |
| Claire Whyte, a community worker with Fersands and Fountain Community Project, explains that food banks in the area are not able to meet demand: “People feel embarrassed to use them and, longer term, a food bank is not sustainable.” | Claire Whyte, a community worker with Fersands and Fountain Community Project, explains that food banks in the area are not able to meet demand: “People feel embarrassed to use them and, longer term, a food bank is not sustainable.” |
| Whyte is piloting the co-operative scheme along with Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE), with funding from Aberdeen city council and the Scottish government. She visited the UK’s first food pantry in Stockport, Greater Manchester, which opened in 2013, before the launch. | Whyte is piloting the co-operative scheme along with Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE), with funding from Aberdeen city council and the Scottish government. She visited the UK’s first food pantry in Stockport, Greater Manchester, which opened in 2013, before the launch. |
| “What struck me was that local people were so passionate about it. This is also about meeting your neighbours. Part of poverty is social isolation because you can’t afford to do things. You pay only a token amount but it makes you equal to everybody else.” | “What struck me was that local people were so passionate about it. This is also about meeting your neighbours. Part of poverty is social isolation because you can’t afford to do things. You pay only a token amount but it makes you equal to everybody else.” |
| Building on the success of the Stockport experience, Niall Cooper, who is director of Church Action on Poverty and based in nearby Salford, is developing a franchise network, with branches opening in Birmingham, London and Cardiff in the spring. He says he is aware of about 20 similar ventures in Greater Manchester alone. | Building on the success of the Stockport experience, Niall Cooper, who is director of Church Action on Poverty and based in nearby Salford, is developing a franchise network, with branches opening in Birmingham, London and Cardiff in the spring. He says he is aware of about 20 similar ventures in Greater Manchester alone. |
| The pantry model is taking off because it avoids the associated shame of food bank use, says Cooper. He points out the key differences: “You choose food from the shelves, you are a member, it’s not a relationship of charity, and there’s no need for a referral.” | The pantry model is taking off because it avoids the associated shame of food bank use, says Cooper. He points out the key differences: “You choose food from the shelves, you are a member, it’s not a relationship of charity, and there’s no need for a referral.” |
| Nor is it a short-term solution – at a food bank a client will typically receive three parcels as a crisis response. “You can remain a member of a pantry for as long as you like. You can volunteer yourself, and there’s more sense of community ownership.” | Nor is it a short-term solution – at a food bank a client will typically receive three parcels as a crisis response. “You can remain a member of a pantry for as long as you like. You can volunteer yourself, and there’s more sense of community ownership.” |
| Lopa Saxena, a research associate at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at the University of Coventry, has mapped the rise of “austerity retail” in the UK. | Lopa Saxena, a research associate at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at the University of Coventry, has mapped the rise of “austerity retail” in the UK. |
| “In the past five years we have seen an increase in the use of this non-charitable model, like community pantries and and social supermarkets. They reflect a shift away from emergency food provision, offering longer-term access to food at affordable prices, especially for those in in-work poverty.” | “In the past five years we have seen an increase in the use of this non-charitable model, like community pantries and and social supermarkets. They reflect a shift away from emergency food provision, offering longer-term access to food at affordable prices, especially for those in in-work poverty.” |
| These are locally tailored responses that go “beyond food banks”, says Saxena: “There may be space for specialists to offer advice on debt, employment, budget management, alongside the shopping, as well as teaching cooking skills and a place for people to meet.” | These are locally tailored responses that go “beyond food banks”, says Saxena: “There may be space for specialists to offer advice on debt, employment, budget management, alongside the shopping, as well as teaching cooking skills and a place for people to meet.” |
| Cooper predicts that the pantry movement will continue to grow across the UK. “We’re in the early days, perhaps where the food bank movement was seven or eight years ago, but there is the potential to grow to hundreds.” | Cooper predicts that the pantry movement will continue to grow across the UK. “We’re in the early days, perhaps where the food bank movement was seven or eight years ago, but there is the potential to grow to hundreds.” |
| Saxena is equivocal about whether this should be cause for celebration, given its recognition that – with Brexit threatening further increases in food prices – food insecurity will remain a chronic problem for many people into the future. | Saxena is equivocal about whether this should be cause for celebration, given its recognition that – with Brexit threatening further increases in food prices – food insecurity will remain a chronic problem for many people into the future. |
| “To the extent that pantries rely on unpredictable food surplus from the food industry, rely on volunteers, and face financial challenges, this raises questions about linking food surplus with food poverty and how we confront a dysfunctional food system. | “To the extent that pantries rely on unpredictable food surplus from the food industry, rely on volunteers, and face financial challenges, this raises questions about linking food surplus with food poverty and how we confront a dysfunctional food system. |
| “And should we be normalising the fact that more and more people need discounted food? There’s a danger that we end up masking the policies and market mechanisms at the root of food poverty.” | “And should we be normalising the fact that more and more people need discounted food? There’s a danger that we end up masking the policies and market mechanisms at the root of food poverty.” |
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