Agenda item

This report outlines progress on addressing food poverty in Hammersmith & Fulham.

The Chair welcomed Sue Spiller, Head of Community Investment and Daphine Aikens, Chief Executive Officer of Hammersmith & Fulham FoodBank (HFFB).  The Committee had looked at food poverty in the borough on two previous occasions and welcomed the opportunity to receive a update following the opening of the new site at Bloemfontein Road.  Sue Spiller reported that whilst it was sadly, a much needed resource the site, named The Hub@75, was operational. Daphine Aikens explained that it was working fantastically well and heartfelt, positive feedback had been received.  There were plans to provide additional funding to extend the service and operate a summer club throughout the long school holiday, making provision for children on free school meals. 

Daphine Aiken informed members that the increased funding (from LBHF and The Trussell Trust, until March 2018) to the Hammersmith and Fulham Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) provided for a second full time advice worker.  Work undertaken by them was invaluable, supporting 165 individuals in the past 9 months and securing additional benefits income for them. In addition, three advice sessions provided by Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre had been held at The Hub@75 and these would hopefully continue once a new housing advice lawyer was in post.

Commenting on the Rose Vouchers scheme, it was explained that HFFB would like to develop this further.  The scheme additionally benefits the local market and ensures that eligible families are able to use the vouchers as cash in exchange for fruit and vegetables with the aim of ensuring a healthy start for young families.  Daphine Aikens expressed her disappointment that few of the larger supermarkets were proactive about food disposal and recognised that there was considerable work to be done.  FareShare initiated a Tesco pilot scheme which would be reported back on, unused food was collected and disposed of by local charities using FoodCloud.

Councillor Joe Carlebach commented that Wholefoods Market, Kensington be contacted as he was aware that they donate.  Daphine Aikens continued, commenting that in June 2010 the aim of HFFB was to alleviate poverty in Hammersmith & Fulham, providing emergency supplies for people in the area. The three sites were fully funded, operating 6 days per week.  All referrals were given food of nutritional value, hygiene products, clothing, pots, pans and kitchen utensils.  Bulk items, such as beans and pasta were shared out and redistributed with other charities. 

With reference to the HFFB annual report, there had been a 22% increase in the past year in the number of people being fed in the past two years. Qualifying some of the data, Daphine Aikens indicated that where low income was the reason for the referral, figures were slightly skewed as it was submitted directly by HFFB branches.  The referral arose because the individual had insufficient benefits to survive.  The list of Major Voucher Partners was where they saw most of the vouchers being issued and they are vital for identifying need as frontline care providers.  In response to a question from Councillor Andrew Brown, Daphine Aikens explained the process, where an individual would approach the CAB and their most pressing need  identified, ie, food poverty, and a food  voucher issued.  The person is welcomed warmly at HFFB and leave with sufficient food covering immediate need.  Most are local residents, but some of those who are not, have children who go to school in the borough. 

Daphine Aikens outlined additional areas of support undertaken, including training courses on meal planning, with those planned for September and October already fully booked. Many individuals self-refer such as young people leaving care and other vulnerable groups. The Hub@75 site, being new has gradually established itself.  Weekly coffee mornings, use of PC, job searches, CV advice, clothing requests and health and classes are some of the areas of support offered, with a view to extending these to IT classe in the future.  Daphine Aikens added that they were also working with with Mitie as part of the local employability scheme. 

Councillor Hannah Barlow commended the work of the organisation and enquired about the referral process and how this worked.  Councillor Barlow observed that whilst the service was invaluable, if in the long term, the goal was to eliminate it, closer analysis as to why benefit delays were incurred, was necessary.  Sue Spiller clarified that the delay in benefits from the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) arose where a review or the overturning of a decision took months.  This was a national issue and partly due to the impact of Universal Credit.  She confirmed that it was difficult to get an accurate picture of the causes of food poverty and that CAB advice had been quite helpful in terms of establishing the high cost of housing rent locally.  Benefits themselves were not always the issue, rather the slow resolution of issues resulting in delayed payment and as such, difficult to unpick.  Councillor Barlow commented that a 7 week delay was considerable and caused great impact on vulnerable people. 

In a response to a query by Debbie Domb, Disablity Campaigner, Daphine Aikens confirmed that disabled groups were not currently able to join the fuel bank scheme.  Sue Spiller added that the CAB, together with national fuel organisations were currently offering this ahead of the winter season. She continued, that funding through local authorities would further mitigate against fuel poverty targeting at risk groups.  It was noted that the scheme was currently limited to families with children. Sue Spiller acknowledged this was a concern and stated that once the scheme was established, work would be done to augment it, with options to closely examine the criteria for eligibility in further detail.

Daphine Aikens responded to a comment by Councillor Sue Fennimore, highlighting concerns about the work of job centres in the context of suspending benefits such as Job Seekers Allowance (JSA).  She confirmed that she had visited the job centre,  which was able to issue vouchers and that the partnership working arrangement with this and other organisations such as the law centre worked well. 

Co-optee, Patrick McVeigh, Action on Disability, congratulated them on an excellent report that was both easy to read and understand.  He commented on the harshness of the benefit review process where benefits were suspended and then paid in arrears once a decision is reached.  Daphine Aikens explained that they dealt with about 90 enquires per week, largely from women and children, and who may visit the site on more than one occasion during a period of benefit sanction extending over 6 weeks or longer. 

Councillor Carlebach expressed concern over the lack engagement by hospitals who were absent from the list of voucher partners and encouraged the organisation to approach them, suggesting that it would be useful to establish a central contact point with the local NHS trusts, rather than approaching individual departments, which could be time consuming.  Daphine Aikens acknowledged this and a supplementary point from Councillor Carlebach, explaining that they were limited to small scale operations and would find it difficult to manage bulk items from large, local food manufacturers due to storage limitations. 

Councillor Perez congratulated Daphine Aikens on the fantastic work being undertaken.  In response to a number of points, Daphine Aikens explained that the food parcels were issued on the basis of identified need, establishing the circumstances of each individual, to illustrate access to power, means to cook with and mobility.  Demand for the service was increasing and referrals were sometimes received outside partner agencies.  Emphasing the level of need, the invidual’s access to facilities would be established through discussion and a parcel prepared that they would be happy to take home, to illustrate, “kettle boxes”.  People gained a sense of worth and a degree of control or choice. They were asked for their preference and this was empowering.  Daphine Aiken explained that volunteers were trained to be able to provide information, support individuals and be a resource in terms of what they were able to provide. 

Self-referrals without vouchers could be checked if previously referred, however,  need has to identifiable and we encourage people to apply.  However, those in desperate need will not be turned away empty handed. Issues relating to Universal Credit had made it harder to be proactive, clients were likely to visit more frequentely.  Some resort to stealing food, debts are further accrued and their situation deteriorates rapidly.

In response to supportive comments from Councillor Sharon Holder, Lead Member for Hospitals and Healthcare, Daphine Aitkens explained that their services were broadly advertised locally utilising free resources such as the LBHF website (also promoted from within the Council) and social media.  Local businesses donate either food, cash or support.  Additional collection points were being planned but this was balanced against the logistics of dealing with the storage and distribution of 3-4 tons of donated food per week.  Replying to Councillor Brown, Daphine Aikens said that issues such as mental health benefit system concerns should be identified early on so that matters do not escalate.  Sue Spiller clarified that early prevention through childrens centres was preferable but this was difficult where people were not in touch with or accessible by, service providers. It was noted that whilst many of the clients did not work, there were also those that did not fit the benefit profile, were in work but struggled.  Such clients had a myriad of issues to deal with. 

The Chair commended Daphine Aikens for the work of the organisation and enquired whether HFFB communicated more widely with other groups working in, for example, White City and if this could be further explored, together with working more closely with the Council on the issue of storage.  Sue Spiller confirmed that this would be helpful in terms of working with food partners, particularly with regard to initiatives such as the summer programme feeding children on free school meals.  

ACTION: Sue Spiller