Community groups across Adur and Worthing have been helping their neighbours, by coordinating thousands of food parcels and pre-prepared meals to those in need of food support.

Over 17,000 parcels and 2,500 pre-prepared meals were delivered to our community between April and Sept last year – and that number keeps rising. Neighbours have been supporting our neighbours with food parcel collections, deliveries and regular sit-down meals, aiming to ensure everyone has something to eat.

Food groups across Adur and Worthing have been experiencing a persistent increase in demand for food support, and with recent cost of living increases, this is expected to increase even further. Increases in national insurance, income tax, energy and fuel costs and food prices are all expected to further impact our local families and neighbours.

There are lots of things that can lead individuals and families to having to rely on food-aid. Low income, issues with benefits, physical and mental health issues, increased costs during school holidays, increases to rent and housing prices, debt impacts from the pandemic and many other life circumstances are contributing to our neighbours needing to rely on community food groups. A number of people are thought to be in work and needing to rely on food support.

Ways you can support

One of the best ways to support is giving a regular financial donation so the groups can make the most of your money by bulk purchasing and making sure they get the things most needed. You can see all the fantastic ways our food groups are helping and how best to support each individual project via their websites, listed here.

You can also write to your local MP and councillors about your concerns, and ask them to take action to support our neighbours. Lot’s of supporting information can be found in our recent report.

If you own a food business and can contribute regular food donations, please contact sarah@bhcommunityworks.org.uk. You can also sign your business up to the Real Living Wage.

To read the full Community Food Network report, click here.