Research on the ‘Making a Difference' Project at Norwich Foodbank
Food Insecurity and The Foodbanks
People face food insecurity when they struggle to find enough food to feed themselves and their families. It has become an ever increasing issue faced by our communities as the cost of everyday food items increases and debt becomes the prevailing issue that people present to us. It is often accompanied with declining mental and physical health and will often be a symptom of changes in circumstances, such as a crisis, or not having a reliable income.
Foodbanks will provide emergency food provisions for people in these situations and Doctors Sarah Hanson and Bryony Porter have found evidence that an advisory service offered alongside Foodbank services, such as the service our organization offers at Foodbanks across Norfolk, is an effective way of providing support and making a long-lasting impact on people’s lives.
The Making a Difference Project
“The ‘Making a Difference’ project at Norwich Foodbank aims to increase financial resilience in foodbank users.”
During the Summer of 2022, a new advice worker employed by Shelter worked alongside Citizen’s Advice workers in an attempt to pre-empt the need for foodbank use in order to reduce the need for repeat visits, alleviating pressure on the service and allowing it to support a larger number of people.
The Research of Dr Sarah Hanson and Dr Bryony Porter
School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia
The independent research by the University of East Anglia aimed to take a closer look at at how advisers, both staff and volunteers, operated on a practical level, whether the service operated as intended and where there was room for improvement.
From July to October 2022, the Foodbank Manager, four staff and four volunteers were interviewed. The interviews revealed:
“(We are) a service that is supporting people with highly complex needs that is provided in a compassionate and person-centred way and cuts across multiple agencies. It aims to holistically provide a service that ‘wraps around’ the person.”
With the central, busy locations of the Foodbanks, “sitting in the heart of a community”, we are in the perfect position to reach clients who are less likely to have the same access to support as the majority. Our advisers work to build confidential, trusting relationships with their clients, reducing stigma and allowing people to express their concerns without fear of judgement or adverse reactions, despite the distressing nature of some of their stories.
“There was mutual respect and understanding between the volunteers and the advice workers.”
