Bristol crowdfunder to tackle rise in food poverty

Bristol Local Food Fund wants to raise £100,000 by the end of November

Campaigners are hoping to raise £100,000 to help give people from disadvantaged communities access to regular meals.

The Bristol Local Food Fund (BLFF) aims to raise the money by 30 November to go towards fighting food poverty.

More than 40 independent food and drink businesses in the city are supporting the project.

A BLFF spokesperson said they hoped the project would "ensure that everyone has access to healthy affordable food".

The Bristol Local Food Fund was started in July 2020 and is volunteer led.

It has been working in partnership with Bristol City Council, Feeding Bristol, Bristol Food Network, Bristol City Funds and Burges Salmon.

Feeding Bristol director Ped Asgarian said the initiative will have a "positive impact".

"The Bristol Local Food Fund will provide easy-to-access funding at a time when we are seeing the disparity in wealth widen quicker than ever before with rising fuel and food costs, the cutting of Universal Credit and the aftermath of the pandemic," he said.

Council data showed one in 20 household experience "moderate to severe" food insecurity

According to Bristol City Council data, one in 20 households in Bristol experience "moderate to severe" food insecurity, meaning they are unable to access enough good quality food to maintain healthy levels of nutrition.

It also found that food insecurity is more severe for citizens in the more economically deprived areas of Bristol and for people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people, single parents and young people.

Jamie Cameron, senior associate and head of community engagement at Burges Salmon, said the company has gifted £10,000 to help launch the project and "ensure that everyone has access to healthy affordable food".

"We are excited to support the Bristol Local Food Fund's new innovative and collaborative approach - working with partners all across the city and directly with communities and people affected by food insecurity," he said.

Organisers hope to set up longer-term funding streams to make it a more long term, sustainable initiative.