Last year we received a grant from the Community Tech Makers & Maintainers fund from Power to Change to work on a project alongside the Open Food Network developing voucher functionality on the platform which hosts our online shop. You can read more about the start of the project here >
Thanks to the work of developers from across the world, the first release of this function was made available on the Open Food Network ahead of schedule at the start of the year! The work has also supported this scheme in Australia so the project is having global impact.
Since then, we’ve been testing and trialling it in partnership with our local foodbanks, using the feature as a way to provide another offer of support to those in the community facing food insecurity.
What’s been developed?
With the funding we received, the Open Food Network has been able to develop a new function allowing voucher codes to be set up by us, and redeemed by customers. You might have noticed this new addition when you check out - a payment option that allows you to enter and apply a code.
How does it work?
Each week, our local foodbanks are able to give a £20 voucher to individuals and families they know are in need of some extra support. The recipient can then visit our online shopfront and place an order, exactly as any other customer would. They can order from our full range of produce (excluding alcohol, as per foodbank policies) and have their order delivered to their home or local collection point on Friday afternoon. We’ve been working with Callington Foodbank to offer this to recipients since January, and have recently been able to roll out the same offer to Tavistock Foodbank too.
As well as the vouchers, we’re continuing with our long-standing deliveries of veg bags. We receive a list of referrals from Callington and Tavistock Foodbanks every week, and then deliver one of our seasonal, English veg bags to each one’s doorstep on Fridays. In 2023, we delivered over 785 donated veg bags to individuals, families and organisations across the Tamar Valley and Plymouth.
Both the vouchers and the veg bags we deliver are mainly funded by the generous donations we receive from our customers at Tamar Valley Food Hubs each week - so thank you! These donations go back into our community, allowing us to buy veg from local growers and wholesalers for the bags, and to deliver them directly to local people who can benefit from them.
What do vouchers offer?
In the past few years, the number of people experiencing food insecurity has increased significantly, with the percentage of people in food insecure households increasing from 7% in 2021-2022 to 11% in 2022-2023 (1). One of the main reasons for this has been the increase in food prices, which started rising notably in 2021, with food and drink inflation reaching a high of 19.1% in March 2023 (2).
With the need for support growing, we wanted to be able to respond to this in our community with different options to suit different needs. Food insecurity can bring significant physical and psychological stresses, and asking for help or relying on others for support can be a difficult and disempowering experience. Being able to offer vouchers that can be redeemed at the Food Hubs means that recipients can choose exactly what they need and would like from the range of hundreds of local and organic products we have available each week. We hope that in offering vouchers, we can give some control back to individuals whilst also helping them access high quality, nutritious food.
“Dignity - a person’s right to be valued and respected – is essential for good human relations, individual self worth and wellbeing. Dignity is negatively affected by conditions of poverty and food insecurity, and research shows that people who use community food support frequently experience trauma. Community Food Support, including food banks, community fridges, pantries and social supermarkets, should attempt to counter, rather than deepen, that loss of dignity.”
What’s next?
Developments on the Open Food Network are continuing this year, with additional work being completed that will give us more flexibility in the way we manage the new function in our shopfront. We’ll also be able to use vouchers as part of our marketing for the Food Hubs, helping us to show our appreciation to our customers, reach new ones and to grow our sales of local produce.
You can make a donation of a seasonal, English veg bag here >
Find out more about other projects being supported by the Makers and Maintainers grant here >
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