Grassroots groups in Oxford rising to the challenge of feeding local people amidst rising costs of food and fuel

Community food provisioning efforts across the city are struggling to keep up with unprecedented demand for support this winter due to the rising cost of living meaning more people than ever before are accessing services. Collectively, nine grassroots groups known as the OX4 Food Crew deliver and provide 800 families with food each week – and yet still they have to turn people away. 

Alongside the explosion of new requests that started last year due to the cost of living crisis, which immediately followed the pandemic, ongoing supply issues have meant that volunteers are increasingly faced with the heartbreaking choice between cutting back on essential parcel contents and turning some people away empty-handed. More and more people are coming to ask for food – perhaps most shockingly people who have work but who are still struggling to make ends meet. 

At this festive time it is as simple as local people trying to be there for other local people who are struggling to get by. However they need the support of the wider Oxford community.

The OX4 Food Crew groups have come together to collectively raise funds together in their Winter Appeal. They are appealing to Oxford businesses, communities, congregations and residents for help to raise funds that will enable them to keep delivering services this winter. 

The OX4 Food Crew includes many brilliant local organisations including Indie Oxford members Waste2Taste and Flo’s the Place in the Park, alongside Oxford Mutual Aid, Oxford Community Action, Oxford City Farm, Ark T, Syrian Sisters, Donnington Doorstep and No Vice Ice.

For many, it will come as a shock that so many people live in food poverty in our city. However in the last twelve months almost 2,000 people attended community meals, 3800 received emergency food parcels and 260 people took part in cooking and nutrition education courses provided by the OX4 Food Crew alone. 

Most community-led food support efforts in the city rely primarily on surplus food redistribution charities for their supply. Since the cost of living has risen, and oil and food prices have sky-rocketed there is simply much less surplus in the system. 

Groups giving out food have been shortchanged – what they used to receive for an administrative fee has massively dropped. The shortages are adding further strain to the tightly-resourced grassroots groups at a time when the cost of living crisis is causing the largest jump in first-time and in-work food bank use in the UK’s recent history. 

Stories of change

“I just wanted to drop a line as I just received a food parcel…and just wanted to say thank you, I was so embarrassed to have to ask for help. My daughter in law contacted you and I even had to ask my daughter to go to the door to collect it. For my children to receive fresh fruit and a chocolate treat was amazing and I wish you could have seen the smiles. Thank you again.” – recipient of food parcels from Oxford Mutual Aid.

“S and her husband , both 84 years old, have been receiving cooked meals twice a week from W2T since the beginning of the pandemic . They live in extremely poor housing conditions with no access to cooking facilities. Thanks to our support and other partners of the OX4 Food Crew, they can enjoy a delicious, cooked meal every day of the week and have a little chat, build relationships with the volunteers who deliver their meals”-says Derek a volunteer from Waste2Taste.

“The meals transformed her. She was was under 6 stone and put on a lot of weight. She was so excited. It was like a little treat every week. She went without before”  says Sam, a parent receiving food parcels through the Food Crew (not real name)

“Thank you so much, you’re a group of angels! My food parcel this week is amazing. Your service is crucial for people like me and my situation is not unique. Once again thank you for your support.” says Vanessa, food parcel recipient through the Food Crew (not real name)

“While we used to receive 975-1000 kilos of surplus food from SOFEA every week, we have been getting less with every passing month. We get more and more people coming but don’t have enough food to share. We have tried to keep providing our usual 320 parcels every week by cutting back on contents, but we only received 643 kilos of food last Wednesday which forced us to reduce service to 220 parcels,” says Hassan, one of Oxford Community Actions’s lead organisers.

By donating to the winter appeal you will be contributing to making members of our community’s lives a bit brighter this winter.

– £12 can pay for someone to have a 3 course Christmas lunch at a community venue

– £60 could provide 36 households with a 1kg bag of rice each in their weekly food parcel

– £100 is enough to prepare and deliver a hot meal to ten families living in temporary accommodation who lack the facilities to cook

– £800 would cover the monthly rent and overheads for one of our partner organisations food distribution hubs during the winter

If you’d like to get involved through volunteering, fundraising, or donating food from your business, contact Makena at fundraising@ox4foodcrew.co.uk