Thought leadership

The rise of affordable food clubs…

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend The 2024 City Food Policy Symposium organised by the Centre for Food Policy at City University.  

I am writing this article having returned from a visit to FareShare Merseyside with Councillor Anna Burton – Food Poverty/Food Security champion for Cheshire East Council. Was it good luck or good planning that it coincided with the launch by His Majesty King Charles III of the Coronation Food Project - designed to reduce waste whilst also reducing some hunger.

In my last update I highlighted that one of the areas of my role I’m most looking forward to is setting up a food alliance for Cheshire East. I’m glad to announce that we have now set a date for our launch event – which will take place at 10.30 am on Tuesday 17 October at Congleton Town Hall. The exact format of the event is still being worked on; but I’m delighted that it will be opened by Andrew Forsey National Director of Feeding Britain. You can RSVP here.  

The Cheshire East Food Alliance (CEFA) is one year old! I’m pleased to report progress... there’s greater cooperation amongst groups leading to food sharing...more projects are benefiting from funding – over £200k in the last round of Cost of Living / Household Support Fund grants alone. But also, from sources including Feeding Britain.

Yet, some things are all too familiar... one I would argue is the overuse of the phrase food poverty...including, sometimes, in describing my role. Is this just masking the real issue - which is poverty?

IT classes for people with disabilities in Macclesfield

The Disability Information Bureau (DIB), with support from Community & Voluntary Services Cheshire East (CVS), is delighted to have been awarded £10,000 to deliver its ‘Disability Inclusion, Digitally’ (DID) project through Cheshire East Council’s Cost-of-Living Community Response grant. The funding will allow DIB to offer IT classes supporting individuals experiencing barriers to online learning, to improve their digital skills and access to essential online services during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

All of us at CVSCE have been deeply saddened and distressed to witness the racism and violence connected to the hatred on our streets over the last week. We stand in solidarity with those individuals and communities who have been targeted, threatened, or otherwise made to feel insecure. There is no place for such behaviour in a modern, democratic society. We will work with communities where we can be helpful to spread powerful, positive information as an attempt to move on from such horrifying scenes.

Visyon and Just Drop-In have been commissioned by Cheshire East Council to provide the Healthy Young Minds Service. As part of this service, we are pleased to announce that we have partnered with Solihull Approach; trusted provider of online courses focused on children's emotional health and wellbeing, to provide FREE online evidence-based courses, developed by psychologists and professionals, for ALL professionals within Cheshire East’s Children’s workforce. These courses can be accessed anytime, anywhere by individual practitioners, at no cost.