Ensuring everyone has access to good food
Winchester Access to Good Food network
We have created a “Learning Partnership” to co-design community-led projects for people who are face food insecurity; through personal, social or financial barriers, with an emphasis on:
- Decrease in feelings of stigma
- Increase in a dignity promoting approach throughout the Network’s work
- Increase in collaboration between partnership organisations
- More successful solutions to access to good food, which are well-used because they are actions which are based on evidence from the community voice, and not on assumptions of what the community needs
- Increase in community led projects which offer affordable and sustainable alternatives
- An increase in solutions to access to good food that aren’t crisis management but are developed and designed from the ground upwards.
Access to Good Food Study
In 2020 we conducted a study with community members to help us understand barriers that people faced in accessing good food, and in particular issues accessing the various community food projects around the District. We undertook 10 focus groups, with 70 participants; with an age range if 20-95, in both city and rural locations. A number of barriers were identified that the AtGF network is currently focussed on improving:
- Awareness – awareness of what support/projects were available, and who could use them and how often was a key frustration.
- Asking – people didn’t know who to ask for help, and were embarrassed of having to ask, feeling judged – were key reasons people were reluctant to use services available.
- Access – opening times, locations, personal barriers were all problems highlighted in people being able to access community food projects
- Availability – the disparity of available support/projects across the District was problematic especially for people without their own transport.
If you’d like to help us, please get in touch.
