This plan follows the 'Food Ladders'2 approach, developed by Dr Megan Blake at the University of Sheffield. This is an evidenced-based approach for framing food-based interventions and tool for community-based development that focuses on reducing vulnerability to food insecurity.
The arrows in the ladder above represent local authority departments, working groups, community organisations and local food networks, connecting the stages together and providing support.
Rung 1 – Catching - emergency crisis support or emergency activity provides a starting point for those who are in crisis or experiencing food poverty. Such interventions might include emergency food aid, mental health support, access to social services, food and fuel vouchers.
Rung 2 – Capacity building - supports those not currently in crisis, but who may be struggling to afford and or access good food or at risk of food poverty. Activities may include shared cooking and eating activities, food pantries and children's holiday clubs or Interventions with retailers to shift towards healthier food. This sort of intervention enables people and communities to be more adaptable by expanding what they can bring to the table to make change.
Rung 3 – Community led and self-organising initiatives - supporting communities to realise goals through self-organised projects that capitalise on what is good in communities. Examples include developing a social enterprise based on community cooking knowledge that provides employment, cooperative food growing and food procurement that increases the local availability of good food.
Each rung of the 'food ladder' plays a role in enabling individuals to become more food secure; people can move between the rungs at different stages of their life. But each rung is integral towards food security. Without crisis support, individuals can't focus on building skills. Without those skills, people can remain dependent on food aid and without opportunities to develop independence and be part of a community, breaking free from the cycle of poverty becomes much harder.
By integrating the 'food ladders' framework into our work, we will ensure that service users not only receive immediate support and access to nutrition services and programmes, but are also supported in building community connections, and gaining the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to achieve long-term food security.
[2] Food Ladders