Shropshire did not have a strategy to address food poverty. Community groups had started food banks and other initiatives across the county, but there was not a plan which brought everything together.
In 2017 we saw the opportunity to form a Food Poverty Alliance with funding from Sustain's Food Power Program. We were successful in gaining funding to undertake the research needed to develop a food poverty action plan. We invited key organisations to join the Alliance to oversee the development of the action plan.
Throughout 2018 we undertook a participative research process to gather information on food poverty in Shropshire and the actions which would make the most difference. This included:
- Three half day workshops
- Online surveys of organisations, individuals and schools across Shropshire
- Interviews with experts by experience
- Visits to food banks and key organisations
- Mapping levels of food poverty
- Gathering information from other parts of the UK on which initiatives are working to address food poverty
