1. 1
Food for People in Need:
A Review of Services in Rotherham,
March 2013
By Nikky Wilson
Food for People inCrisis Support Worker
Voluntary ActionRotherham

2. 2
Executive Summary
This report describes existing services providing emergency food assistance in the borough
of Rotherham in 2012. Using information gathered from interviews with each of the 12
organisations offering food, it gives a detailed account of the different types of
organisations in the Food for People in Crisis Partnership and the nature of the assistance
they offer as well as considering how this is resourced and who they help.
Most FIC organisations are small, faith based and strongly independent with many operating
from church premises. Only two of the 12 are non-religious.
The majority (11) offer food parcels whilst 5 of them offer cooked meals. Most are based in
Rotherham town centre, with outlying provision in Wath, Rawmarsh, Kimberworth and
Dinnington. There is currently no provision in Maltby.
Clients seeking food range from those with short term financial problems to those with
longer term issues such as mental health problems and drug and alcohol dependency. In
the majority of cases, the causes of a crisis relate to delays or changes to welfare benefits
and debt.
Although no single organisation provides a service throughout the week, FIC organisations
have worked collectively to ensure that food is available from at least one source on each
day of the week in the centre of Rotherham.
FIC organisations providing food parcels operate a referral system where clients are referred
from other organisations. They often limit assistance to a maximum of 3 parcels per
person/household. Organisations offering cooked meals do not require referrals.
FIC organisations do not generally rely on state funding but instead generate their own
resources. Most of the food distributed by FIC organisations is donated from a variety of
sources. This includes wholesale supermarkets, local businesses, church congregations and
local schools. Only two organisations regularly buy in food. Some handle perishable
foodstuffs but most rely on non-perishable food to make up food parcels. Volunteer labour
is also essential to the delivery of this service: 5 organisations are entirely run by volunteers
whilst several others have a paid member of staff but also recruit volunteers to carry out
particular tasks.
An attempt to estimate the number of food parcels and cooked meals provided by FIC
organisations suggests that over 600 parcels are given out and around 2200 cooked meals
are prepared each month.
Overall FIC organisations provide an extremely cost-effective service, often combining
donated food with volunteer labour and small amounts of grant funding to help a large
number of very vulnerable people deal with an immediate and extremely distressing
problem.

3. 3
Introduction
WithinRotherhamthere hasbeenagrowingawarenessof foodpovertyasanissue facing an
increasingnumberof individualsandfamilieslivinginthe borough. The effectsof manydifferent
factors - the recession, unemployment,changestothe benefitsystem,stagnantwagesand rising
foodprices as well as debtto name a few - have precipitatedmanypeopleinto crisissituations
where theyfindthemselves strugglingtopaybillsand unable toaffordto buyfood.
In 2011 RotherhamCouncil askedVoluntaryActionRotherham(VAR)toidentify whichorganisations
inthe boroughofferedfoodtopeopleincrisissituations. VARthenbroughtthese organisations
togethertoshare informationonhowtheyoperatedandwhotheyhelped. Thisreporthasbeen
compiledfrominformationsuppliedbythose organisationsinvolvedinthe FoodforPeople inCrisis
(FIC) meetings.
Whoprovidesfood?
At the time of writing(March 2013) twelve differentVCF(voluntary,communityandfaith)
organisations have beenidentifiedas offering(mainly free)foodinvariousforms forpeople in crisis
situationsinRotherham. Onlyone of themis actuallycalledafoodbank,a termwhichiscurrently
verypopularinthe media and usedgenerically,butthere are manyotherorganisationsproviding
foodwhodo not use thisterm.
The majorityof FIC organisations are faith-based;theyincludefourbranchesof the SalvationArmy,
twolocal churches,two Christianorganisationssetuptohelphomelesspeople andachurch-run
foodbankwhichis a franchise of the Trussell Trust1
. The onlysecularprovidersare the local branch
of the BritishRedCrossand FoodAWARE,a CommunityInterestCompany whosepurpose isto
redistribute surplusfood. Formanyof these organisations,foodprovisionispartof a package of
servicestheyofferandmaynotbe seenastheirmainactivity.
Organisation Cookedmeals Food parcels Clothes Location
ShilohRotherham √ √ √ Rotherham town centre
The Hub ChristianCommunity √ √ √ Rotherham town centre
The UndergroundMission √ √ Rotherham town centre
BritishRedCross √ √ Rotherham town centre
StreetLife Support √ √ Rotherham town centre
Lighthouse Homes √ Rotherham town centre
RotherhamFoodbank √ Rotherham town centre
SalvationArmy,Kimberworth √ Kimberworth
SalvationArmy,Wath √ Wath
SalvationArmy,Dinnington √ Dinnington
SalvationArmy,Rawmarsh √ Rawmarsh
FoodAWARE (distributesfood
across the borough)
√ Warehouse in Hellaby
1 The Trussell Trustis a national charity which works with churches and community organisationsto set up
food banks across England. Rotherham Foodbank is a franchiseof the Trussell Trustand therefore follows
procedures and systems set by the national organisation.

4. 4
In additiontothose organisationsformallyrecognisedasprovidingfood,itislikelythatsome
churchesand schoolsinthe borough,not currently knowntothe FICgroup,alsoofferfoodto people
incrisissituations butonan informal basis,respondingtoneedasitarises.
Type of servicesofferedandwho they help
There isa considerableamountof diversityinthe type of assistance offered. Thisoften dependson
the originsandaimsof individualorganisations;there isnostandardisedmodel thatall follow. The
majority(11) offerfoodfor people totake home (i.e.foodparcels) butfive of themalsooffercooked
foodto be eatenon theirpremises. One (BritishRedCross) offerssupermarketvoucherstoclients
as well asfoodparcels. Most of themoperate froma base suchas a church kitchenbutone
organises amobile soupkitchen,takingavanintothe centre of Rotherhamona Saturdaynight. In
additiontofoodparcelsandcookedfood,some organisationsalsocollectanddistributeclothesand
bedding. Several provide advice toclients onissuessuchashousingandhealth andsignpostthem
to otherorganisationsforassistance.
Some organisations seek tolimittheirofferof free foodtoparticulartypesof clients. Shiloh,
Lighthouse andStreetLife Supportfocustheirservicesonhomelessadults andRotherhamFoodbank
aimsto assistmainlyfamilies. BritishRedCrossdealsonlywithasylumseekers,particularlythose
that have failedintheirapplicationtoremaininBritainandare destitute. Incontrastto this the four
branchesof the SalvationArmy,the UndergroundMissionandThe HubChristianCommunityoffer
assistance toanyone whorequiresit,regardlessof age or familycircumstances.
A distinctionneedtobe made betweenorganisationsofferingshorttermor longertermassistance.
Most organisationsofferingfoodparcelslimitthistoamaximumof three perperson/household
withinafixedperiodof time. Thismeansthattheyintendtoprovide supportfora shortperiods,to
helpclientsdeal withemergenciesorunforeseensituationsratherthan longertermorchronic
problems. Howeversome churchesoperate aflexible policywhere,if theyfeel the clientneeds
longertermsupport,theywill providefoodparcelsforalongerperiodof time. Organisations
offeringfree mealsdonotsetsuch limitsandallow clientsto returnasmanytimesas theywish.
The reasonswhypeople seekemergencyfoodare varied. Amongstthose seeking foodparcels, the
majorityof clientshave hadproblemswiththeirbenefits,oftenresultingfromchanges ordelaysin
benefitpayments. This oftenprecipitatespeopleintoashortterm crisiswhilsttheywaitforissues
to be resolved;duringthisperiodtheirbenefitpaymentsare stopped. Otherclientshave longer
termproblemsrelatingtolowincomesand accumulatingdebtandreacha crisisbecause they simply
don’thave enoughmoneytopay forall theirhouseholdexpenses. Thiscanaffectworkingfamilies
on lowwagesas well the unemployed. Othercausesof a crisissituation includedomesticviolence,
eviction,familybreakup,redundancyorreductionsinworkinghours,recentrelease fromprison,
bereavementandillness.
FIC organisationsofferingcookedmealsoftendeal withclientssufferingfromenduringproblems.
Thisincludespeoplewithmentalhealthproblems,drugandalcohol dependency aswell as those
experiencinghomelessness,unemploymentandalsolonelinessandisolation.

5. 5
Geographical spread
Sevenof the twelve organisationsare basedinRotherhamtowncentre. Outside the towncentre
coveris more limitedwith fourbranchesof the SalvationArmyprovidingaservice inWath,
Rawmarsh,Dinnington andKimberworth. FoodAWAREhaspreviously heldcontractswiththe NHS
and Social Services to deliverfoodtoseveral Children’sCentres acrossthe borough buthas had to
reduce itscoverage due to fundingchanges. Inexceptional situationssome organisationswill
deliverafoodparcel toa client livingoutsideRotherhamtown centre if theyare unable tocome and
collectitthemselves.Howevermostdonot have the capacityto do thison a regularbasisas they
have no fundingtocovertransportcosts.
At presentthere appearstobe no formal provisionof a free foodservice inthe easternpartof the
borough(Maltbyand surroundingarea) althoughthere maybe local churchesthatdo soon an
irregularbasis. In2011 a local church set upa shopofferingsubsidisedfoodbutthisclosedaftera
fewmonthsas itprovedto be too costlyto run. Food AWAREis intendingtosetup a food‘bank’in
Maltby inMarch, offeringfoodparcelsatacost of £2.50 eachon a Wednesday fromAddisonRoad
Day Care Centre.
OpeningTimes
Most organisationsdonotoffera service throughoutthe full workingweekbutoperate onspecific
days,oftenrelatingtowhichdaystheyobtainfoodsupplies. Howeverthe organisationsbasedin
Rotherhamtowncentre have worked collaborativelyinordertoensure thatfoodison offer(from
differentsources) oneverydayof the week. The listbelow indicateswhateachorganisation offers
on whichdaysof the week.
Shiloh
Cookedbreakfastandlunch,Mondays,WednesdaysandFridays,9.00am – 1.00pm.
Occasional foodparcelsonthe days theyare open.
The Hub Christian Community
Foodparcelsby referral,MondaytoFriday,9am to 5pm.
CookedbreakfastsonThursdays.
The UndergroundMission
Foodparcelson TuesdaysandThursdays;referralsfromRotherhamPolice(mainly EasternEuropean
families).
CookedlunchonTuesdays.
British Red Cross
Foodparcelsfor asylumseekersand refugees,Tuesdays,12.30 to 3.30pm.
StreetLife Support
Hot foodand foodparcels(packedlunch) forhomelesspeople,Saturdaynights,7pmonwards.
Lighthouse Homes
Cookedmeal onSundaynights,6pmto 7pm

6. 6
Rotherham Foodbank
Foodparcels;TuesdaysandThursdays,12 – 2pm. Availableonlytoclientswithfoodvouchers:five
organisationsinRotherham(including2Children’s Centres,the ProbationService andCAB) are given
voucherseveryweek.
KimberworthSalvation Army
Foodparcelsby referral,whenneeded(nospecifiedday)
Wath-upon-Dearne SalvationArmy
Foodparcelsby referral andthroughthe local Children’sCentre, whenneeded(nospecifiedday).
Rawmarsh Salvation Army
Foodparcelsby referral,Wednesdays,12 noonto 2.30pm.
DinningtonSalvation Army
Foodparcelson Saturdays,12 noonuntil foodisgone.
Food AWARE
Cheapfruitand vegetablesavailableonFridaysandSaturdaysfrompremisesinHellaby.
Fooddeliveredtoa varietyof organisationswhichthenpass itonto people inneed.
Referrals
Cookedmealsare generallyprovidedwithoutareferral;anyone whoturnsupat the relevant
locationwill be offereda free meal. These are offeredby StreetLife Support,ShilohRotherham,the
UndergroundMission,The Hub and Lighthouse Homes. Howeverthe situationforfoodparcelsis
differentwithmost organisations (exceptRotherhamFoodbank) usingareferral systemto verifythe
authenticityof the peoplerequestinghelp andlimitdemandfortheirservices. Referringagencies
are askedto provide evidence of needforthe individualbeingreferred,inthe formof a letter,email
or phone call. This systemisusedto ensure thatthe assistance FICorganisationsprovide istocover
short term,crisissituationsandtopreventabuse of theirgenerosity. Several specifythattheycan
onlyprovide amaximumof three foodparcels toone person/household. Howeverinpractice many
of these organisationsare more flexible whenpresentedwithgenuine casesof need;some willoffer
foodparcelson a longertermbasisor to people whohave turnedupwithoutareferral.
A template letterhasbeendevelopedbyFICorganisationswhichhasbeenwidelycirculatedto
organisationsthattheyreceive referralsfrom. Referralscome fromavarietyof statutory
organisationssuchasJob Centre Plus,Social Services,Children’sCentres,the police andNHSstaff
such as healthvisitors. Voluntaryorganisationssuchasthe CitizensAdvice Bureau,Lifeline,Shelter
and housingassociationsalsomake referrals.
Unlike the otherFICorganisations, RotherhamFoodbankdoesnotacceptreferralsbyletterbut
insteadoperatesavouchersystem. Thisisa requirementof theirTrussellTrustmembershipandhas
beensetinplace to helpfood banksmanage the supplyanddemandforfood. Each weekthe
Foodbankemailsalimitednumberof vouchers (usuallyfive) toafixednumberof distributing
organisationsinthe borough. Theyinclude RotherhamCAB,the ProbationService andtwo

7. 7
Children’s Centreswhichare thenauthorisedtoissue these voucherstoclients. Once the vouchers
are usedup for that period,nomore referralscanbe made from those organisations.
Food sources
A varietyof differentmethodsare employedbyFICorganisations toobtainthe foodtheyneed. A
distinctionneedstobe made betweenorganisationsreceivinganddistributingfreshfoodandthose
handlingnon-perishablesupplies. Thishasa significantimpactonhow quicklytheyneedtopass
foodon and whotheygive itto; freshsuppliesare generallyprovidedto‘regular’clientswhilstnon-
perishable suppliescanbe storedtobe usedas needed. Some organisationshandle bothfreshand
non-perishableproduce.
Onlyone organisation(Shiloh)buysproduce fromFareShare2
inBarnsleywhichisdeliveredtothem
on a weeklybasis. Several organisationscollect free fooddonatedfromsupermarketsand
wholesalersthatisaboutto reach itsexpirydate,oftentravellingoutside Rotherhamtosource this.
Costcoin SheffieldandMarren’sinBarnsleyare the mainsourcesof foodfor the Underground
Mission andall four branchesof the SalvationArmy. FoodAWAREcollectssurplusfreshfoodfrom
Sainsbury’s supermarketsandcommercial growersandredistributesittoorganisationsworkingin
poorercommunities. Thistype of foodisusuallyperishable andneedstobe passedonto clientson
the same day as it iscollectedunlessthe receivingorganisations have adequatestorage facilities
such as a freezerorcoldstorage space. A feature of thissystemisthatthe receivingorganisations
have no control overwhattheyare given;thisdependsentirelyonwhatstockthe wholesalers and
growers are discarding.
Church-basedorganisationstendtorelyondonations of non-perishablesupplies fromtheirown
congregationsandhave linkstootherchurches andlocal schoolsthat alsodonate food. The Hub
usesthismethodtoobtainsuppliesof foodforitsfoodstore;if theyhave a shortage of a particular
item,theywill email theircongregation,askingthemtocontribute thatitem. Organisationssuchas
RotherhamFoodbankhave a‘shoppinglist’of goodsthattheyrequire forfoodparcelsandasktheir
donorsto provide these goods (seeAppendix 1). Insome casesorganisationssupplementdonated
supplies of non-perishable food bybuyingadditional freshproduce,usingfundstheyhavegenerated
themselves.
A summary of foodsources and runningcosts for the differentorganisations isgiven inAppendix 2.
Sources ofcash and food
The average cost of itemsina foodparcel,basedonfiguresobtainedfromRotherhamFoodbank,is
£21 butthiswill vary,accordingto whetherthe applicantissingleora family. A roughestimate
(froma memberof staff at The Hub) of the cost fora single personis£13, fora couple £15 to £16,
and £25 for a family. Foodparcelsare generallyexpectedtocontainenoughfoodtolastfor three
days.
2 FareShare is a national charity which aims to tacklereduce poverty and tackle food waste. Organisations
receivingfood from them pay an annual fee and then delivery costs aswell. However this still proves to be an
economical way of obtainingbulk supplies of food.

8. 8
FIC organisationsuse avarietyof strategiestoobtainthe resourcestheyneedtoofferaservice.
None of themreceive statutoryfundingand many rely onregulardonationsof foodand moneyfrom
local sourcessuch as churchesandschools. Most use theirownpremisesasabase to run the
service from. A fewsuch as StreetLife Support andRotherhamFoodbankhave obtainedsmall
grants to payfor foodand transportcosts. Howevereventhose thatdohave sourcesof funding
enablingthemtobuyfoodstill tendtooperate ‘ona shoestring’andsufferfromalackof security
aboutwhere future fundsandfoodsupplieswillcome from.
The majority of organisations offeringfoodparcels use donatedfood andsothisisoftennot a
significantcosttothem at present. However,since theyhave limitedcontrol overwhatisdonated,
some organisationsuse theirownfundstobuyin itemsthatare inshort supply orperishable.
Otherssuchas StreetLife SupportandBritishRedCross (BRC) buyall theirsupplies whilstShiloh
reliesona combinationof boughtanddonatedfood. Inthe case of BRC, fundingcomesfromthe
national organisation. Othercostsassociatedwith collectingandstoringfood, andevendeliveringit
occasionally,are oftenabsorbedbythe individual organisations ortheirvolunteers;mosthave no
external fundingtocoversuchthings.
Whenasked howtheymightrespondtoan increase inrequestsforassistance aschangesinthe
welfare benefitsystemstarttoimpact,mostorganisationsfelttheycouldnotincrease theirsupply
of foodas thisis largely dependentondonations. Theywere alsoaware thattheycouldnot
significantlyincreasethe amountof foodtheybuyastheydidn’thave fundstopay for thison a
regularbasis. Several suggestedthattheywouldsimplyhave togive lessfoodtoeachperson
requestingitinordertobe able todeal withthisproblem. Volunteersfromone organisationsaid
that, if theyran outof fundsto provide aservice,thiswouldbe interpretedasamessage fromGod
to cease theiractivities.
Deliveringthe service
Volunteersare essential tothe deliveryof foodservices inRotherham;mostorganisationsrely
heavily onvolunteersto collect, packandinsome casescook and serve food. Five organisations
(Shiloh,The UndergroundMission,twobranchesof the SalvationArmy andStreetLife Support) have
no paidstaff and are entirelyrunbyvolunteers. OtherssuchasRotherhamFoodbankandBritish
RedCross have a paidco-ordinatorbutuse volunteerstoperformparticulartaskssuchas makingup
foodparcelsand talkingwithclientsusingtheirservice. Volunteersare oftenrecruitedthrough
church networksandare stronglymotivatedbytheirfaithtogetinvolvedinthistype of community
work. Evenwhere there are paidstaff involvedinprovidingthe service,thismayonlybe partof
theirrole.
Scale ofprovision
Whilstthe exactnumberof foodparcelsprovided byall the differentorganisations isnotrecorded,it
has beenestimated (bythe FICsupportworker) atsomewhere between 100and 160 everyweek.
(Nofiguresexisttoindicate howmanypeople intotal are sustainedbythese parcels;some willbe
offeredtofamilies,althoughinformationfromasurveycarriedoutby RotherhamCABindicatedthat
the majorityof clientsaskingforfoodparcelswere single.) Inadditiontothisat least 500 cooked

9. 9
mealsare servedona weeklybasis. Numbers of beneficiariesare notfixedbuttendtovary
seasonally(winterbeingatime whenfiguresare higher) andalsoinrelationtootherfactors,
includingschool holidays(whenchildrendonotreceive free school meals). Itislikelythatdemand
for these serviceswill increase in2013 as the changesto welfare benefitsbegintoimpactonthe
local population. Appendix 3givesabreakdownof figures foreachof the 12 organisations.
Conclusions
From the descriptionof servicesgivenabove,the followingpointscanbe made:
 There isno single providerinthe boroughthatoffersa comprehensive service. Instead,
largelyasa resultof historical factors,a range of differentorganisationshave beensetupto
offerfoodtopeople ina crisis situation,operatingondifferentdaysandtargetingdifferent
groups. Although thisintroducessome complexityinunderstandingwhodoeswhat, this
diversityof providerscanbe seenasa positive feature,resultingindifferenttypesof clients
beingcateredfor.
 Most organisationsofferingfoodare small,faith-basedand stronglyindependent. They
have not previouslyreliedonstate fundingorcontracts andtherefore are not familiarwith
the culture associatedwithoperatinginthistype of environment. Motivationsamongthem
for providingthe servicemayalsobe differentfromothervoluntaryandcommunitygroups ;
thisneedstobe recognised whenconsideringhow servicescouldbe furtherdeveloped and
alsohowtheywill respondtoan increase indemandforassistance.
 The total amountof fooddeliveredtopeople inneed(inthe formof foodparcelsandmeals)
ishighly dependentonthe strategiesadoptedbydifferentorganisationstosource free or
cheapfoodand alsothe numberof volunteersthatcan be recruitedtodeal withthe
practical tasks of organisingfoodparcelsandcookingmeals. These are thereforethe
limitingfactorsdetermininghow manypeoplecanbe helped; mostorganisationsdonot
have the resourcestobuy inlarge quantitiesof foodorpay staff to dothiswork.
 Whilstdonatedfood(fromCostco,Marrin’s andotherbusinesses,alsochurchesand
schools) providesaveryuseful supplyof foodstuffstopasson to people,itdoesnotalways
provide all the differenttypesof foodneededtocreate mealsfromor make upfoodparcels.
Therefore organisationsare oftenrequiredtospendtheirownfundstosupplementfood
parcelsor mealswithitemsthathaven’tbeendonated.
 Currentlymanyof the organisationsofferingfoodoperateonverylimitedbudgetsandrely
heavilyonobtainingdonatedfoodandvolunteerlabourtokeeptheircoststoa minimum.
Theydo not charge organisationsreferringpeople forfoodbutinsteadoftengeneratefunds
to provide the service fromtheirown local fundraisingeffortsorsmall grants.
 The uncertainityof theirfundingsituation makesitdifficultforthese organisationstoplan
aheadand considerexpanding ordevelopingtheirservices. Transportisa significantcostfor
manyorganisations(mainlyinthe collectionof food) butmostof themdo notreceive any
fundingtopay forthis.
 In termsof the numberof people helpedandthe costof thisservice,FICorganisations
provide excellentvalueformoney. Althoughitisnotpossible tocalculate the total costof
providingthisservice (assomanyorganisationsabsorbadministrativeandothercostsinto

10. 10
theirownoverheads),itisclearthatorganisationscanuse small amountsof moneyvery
effectivelytoofferassistance topeopleinneed. Withoutthe benefitsof volunteerlabour,
donatedfoodandfree premises,the costof thisprovisionwouldbe significantlyhigher.
 Evidence fromasmall grant scheme forFICorganisations,setupin2012, indicatesthateven
small sumsof moneycan make a difference toindividual organisations,enablingthemto
use resourcescreatively anduse fundingto‘fill gaps’, offeringemergencyfoodassistance to
manyvulnerable peopleinRotherham.
 The impact of thisservice oftengoesbeyondsimplymeetingabasichuman need. FIC
organisationsgenerallyhelpextremelyvulnerable peopleata time whentheyhave
exhaustedall otherchannelsof supportandare feelinghelpless, distressed anddesperate.
Thiscan have a significantimpacton people’s healthandwellbeing,helpingthemto deal
withan immediate issue andrelievingsome of the stressassociatedwithextreme poverty.
There isanecdotal evidencetosuggestthatthe provisionof foodmayalsohelpto reduce
crime rates by preventingshopliftingof food.
 In spite of a lack of fundingforthistype of activity,manyFICorganisations are willingto
workwithclientstomeetnotonlyimmediate needsof foodbutalsoofferadvice and
signpostthemtootherorganisationsthatcan helpsolve longertermproblems.
 Overall FICorganisationsprovide averyvaluable service,helpingthousandsof people each
yearto deal withan increasinglycommonissue;alackof moneyto buyfood. Althoughthe
reasonswhypeople findthemselvesinthissituationare varied, inthe majorityof cases the
needtoseekemergencyfoodoftenresultsfrombenefitdelaysanddebt. A reportby
RotherhamCAB(‘Food forThought:Emergency Food Relief atRotherhamCAB’,February
2013) statesthat ‘aswell as supplying food aid,thereis a need to look athow best to
preventpeoplebeing pushed to seekfood aid in thefirst place.’ Theyrecommend ‘more
effective managementof benefitclaimsand debt inorder to reduce the numberof people
needingemergency help. Targeting resources to resolve key debt andbenefit issuesat an
early stage may prevent manypeople with complexproblemsbeingpushed to seek help.’
Thisneedstobe givenseriousconsideration.
FIC Co-ordinationWork
Since July2012 the Foodfor People inCrisis Partnershiphasbenefittedfromthe presenceof apart-
time paidworker,basedatVAR, whohas spenttime gettingtoknow eachof the twelve
organisationsandunderstandthe issuestheyface inofferingaservice. Thishasenabledthe
partnershiptodevelopstrategicallyandworktogetherbysharinginformationandsometimeseven
foodsupplies. Withthe assistance of the worker,theyhave collaboratedtoproduce aninformation
leafletforreferringorganisationsandastandardreferral template togatherrelevantinformation
aboutclients. A jointChristmasappeal andfoodcollectionscheme wassetupinNovember2012
and raisedover£2,800 incash donationstofundadditional mealsandparcelsoverthe Christmas
holidayperiod;FICorganisationsworkedtogethertoplan,co-ordinate andadvertise this. VAR
offeredsupportwiththisbysettingup adedicated‘People inNeed’bankaccounttoreceive
donationsandpasson fundsto FICorganisations.

11. 11
In 2013 the workerhas beensupportingFICorganisationsinavarietyof ways,includingkeeping
theminformedaboutchangestothe welfare benefitsystem,seekingsponsorship andadvisingthem
on possible sourcesof fundingaswell asco-ordinatingmeetingsandpreparingthisreport.
Fundingforthispost (until September2013) and forsome of the activitiesof FICorganisationshas
beenprovidedbyRotherhamNHS. Intotal £35,000 was allocatedtoVoluntaryActionRotherhamin
2012 to co-ordinate the partnershipandalsoinitiate asmall grantscheme forFICorganisations.
VAR small grants for food projects
In early2012 £10,000 of the amountreceivedwasallocatedtosetupa small grant scheme,allowing
FIC organisationstoaccessupto £1,000 to enhance theirservice. Todate £6,500 has beenspenton
this,enablingorganisationstobuyequipment (suchasfreezers,flasks,kettlesandotherelectrical
goods) andpay for expenseswhichhave previouslybeendifficulttofund,aswell asrestockingfood
cupboards or settingupnewschemessuchas breakfastclubs. Eightorganisationsreceivedgrants
averaging£800 and have usedthese tomaintaina service ata time whenthere hasbeenanincrease
inthe numberof people seekingthistype of help.
A further£12,500 will be made available forgrantsin2013, using‘left-over’fundsfromthe previous
grant scheme andan additional £10,000 donatedbythe NHS. The grant scheme isadministeredby
VARwithdecisionsonapplicationsmade byapanel includingNHSandRMBC staff.

12. 12
Appendix 1:The shopping list for RotherhamFoodbank
Milk(UHT or powdered)
Sugar
Fruitjuice (carton)
Cereals
Jam
Soup
Pasta sauces
Tomatoes(tinned)
Instantmashedpotato
Rice/pasta
Tinnedmeat/fish
Tinnedfruit
Sponge or rice pudding(tinned)
Biscuitsor snacks
Appendix 2:
Costs, sources of labour and funding for FIC Organisations
Shiloh
Runningcostsfor a building,food,utilitiesetc.of between£1,500 and £2,000 permonth. Funds
raisedfromprivate donations.
No paidstaff.
Foodis mostlybought;some fromFareShare andthe restboughtfromlocal shops. Some food
(non-perishable) is donatedfromlocal churchesandbreadfromRosesBakery.
The Hub Christian Community
Costsfor premises,storage andtransportof foodare absorbedbythe church.
Volunteersdeliverthe breakfastservice andamemberof staff organisesfoodparcels,on
request.
Foodcomesalmostentirelyfromdonationsfromtheircongregationandotherlocal churches.
The UndergroundMission
Almostall the foodtheyuse formealsandfoodparcelsis obtainedfree of charge fromCostco
and volunteersare usedtoorganise boththe meal andfoodparcels.
No paidstaff.
Costsof any additional foodneededandtransporttocollectitcoveredbythe church.

13. 13
British Red Cross
Uses itsownfundsto provide supermarketvouchersforfailedasylumseekers.
One paidpart-time workerdeliversthe service (onedayaweek).
Foodparcelsare boughtfromFoodAWARE, usinga small grantfrom NHSfunds.
StreetLife Support
Cost of approximately£6,000 p.a.to deliverasoupkitchen,payingforfood,equipment,avan
and insurance. Seeksgrantfundingfromavarietyof sourcestocover these costs.
Foodis boughtinfromMorrisons supermarketonaweeklybasis.
No paidstaff – thisservice isprovidedbyarota of volunteers.
Lighthouse Homes
No costingsavailableforthe Sundaynightcafe;all foodisdonatedbyvolunteerswhobuyit,
prepare mealsathome and thenbringthemto the centre. Volunteersfromlocal churches(over
70 of them) organise arota to deliverthisservice.
Foodparcelsare largelyderivedfromharvestfestival collectionsbylocal schoolsandchurches;
once these are usedup,theyare not replenished.
Rotherham Food Bank
Estimatedcostsof around £1,500 permonth. Also£1,500 Trussell Trustmembershipfeeandan
annual membershipfee of £360. Inadditionto thisthere are administrative costs,rentfor
premisesandtransportcosts. Foodis largelydonatedfromchurchesandschools.
One paidadministratorandsevenvolunteersdeliverthe service.
KimberworthSalvation Army
No costingsavailable;general runningcostsabsorbedbythe church.
FreshfoodisobtainedfromCostco,free of charge and thisis supplementedbyfooditems
boughtfromthe branch’sownfunds. The SA officersadministerthe service.
Wath-upon-Dearne SalvationArmy
As forKimberworth; freshfoodobtainedfromCostcoandsome foodstuffsare boughtinusing
fundsraisedbythe local branch. The pastor and herassistantrun thisservice.
Rawmarsh Salvation Army
Annual costsestimatedat£600 p.a.but thisdoesnotinclude food(mostof whichcomesfrom
Marren’s , free of charge). Costsinclude transport(foodcollection) andbuyingadditional
suppliestomake upfoodparcels,usingtheirownfunds.
Volunteersare usedtodeliverthe service.
DinningtonSalvation Army
No costings available;all foodisobtainedfromCostco,free of charge. Volunteersare usedto
deliverthe service.
Food Aware
No costings available.HaspreviouslyhadNHSandRMBC contracts to deliverfreshfoodto
Children’sCentresinthe borough.Costsincludeoperatingavanto collectfooddiscardedby
supermarketsandcommercial growers,storage anddeliverytoprojects.
One paidmemberof staff and some volunteerlabourused.

14. 14
Appendix 3:An estimate of the number of food parcels and cooked meals
providedby FIC organisations
Organisation Food Parcels Cooked meals
ShilohRotherham
3 to 5 per week
= approx.16 per month
On average 130 mealsperday,
3 timesaweek
= 390 perweek
= 1560 permonth
The Hub 59 in Oct,Nov,Dec 2012
= 19 permonth
Average of 25 perweek
= 100 per month
The UndergroundMission 5 to 10 foodparcelstwice a
week
= 54 permonth
Average of 40 meals, once a
week
= 160 per month
BritishRedCross Average of 20 perweek
= 80 permonth
StreetLife Support Average of 30 parcels(packed
lunches) pernight,once aweek
= 120 per month
Average of 50 people fedper
night,once a week
= 200 mealspermonth
Lighthouse Homes
5 – 6 per month,dependingon
supplies?
Average of 50 people fedper
night,once a week
= 200 mealspermonth
RotherhamFoodbank Average of 20 parcelsperweek
= 80 permonth
KimberworthSalvationArmy Average of 10 parcelsperweek
= 40 permonth
RawmarshSalvationArmy Average of 30 parcelsperweek
= 120 per month
Dinnington SalvationArmy Average of 20 - 25 parcelsper
week
= 90 permonth
Wath SalvationArmy Average of 11parcelsper week
= 44 permonth
FoodAware – providesfoodto
otherorganisationsto
distribute ratherthandirectly
to clients
TOTALS 669 permonth 2220 per month