FOOD BANKS and community larders across the county are calling for systemic change to how food poverty and food insecurity are both perceived and managed. Recent figures from the Trussell Trust, a charity campaigning to end the need for food banks in the UK, showed that between April 2020 and March 2021, during the pandemic, compared to the same time the year before. Jane Benyon, who founded CEF said: “We are certainly having higher levels than previous years. “We almost trebled our figures at the beginning of the pandemic, doubling over Christmas and the three or four months of winter.” She added that there had not been a dramatic rise in families needing food packages, but clarified that this may be because a lot of schools were providing food parcels.
Oxford s dreaming spires Winter support is being rolled out for struggling families and individuals in Oxfordshire. Families and individuals struggling with finances or needing help because of Covid 19 this winter can now access support provided by the different councils in Oxfordshire as well as voluntary and community organisations. Oxfordshire s county and district councils have received £1.37 million from the government’s new Covid 19 Winter Grant Scheme to run local support schemes for those in need. They are working closely together to identify residents requiring urgent assistance, alongside local Citizens Advice services. Ian Hudspeth, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “This Christmas will be different and difficult for every one of us, but I am determined that no resident will go without essentials. Families who are struggling because of the impact of Covid 19 will receive essential support to get them through the winter.