EFFORTS to alleviate food poverty among families in South Belfast have been boosted by a £5,000 donation from Choice Housing – one of the North's largest independent housing providers.
Coordinated from LORAG’s Shaftesbury Community and Recreation Centre in Balfour Avenue, the Community Family Support Programme supports vulnerable families seeking access to fresh food, toiletries and household cleaning products.
LORAG and the Family Support Hub have provided 1,200 responses to those experiencing food insecurity and supported over 350 individuals in a project overseen by reception staff and members of the charity’s hub team.
Other services that families and individuals can avail of at LORAG include free access to gym and fitness classes through the GP referral Healthwise Scheme; Primary Care Talking Therapies; strength and balancing workshops; and a Family Support Hub that delivers services to young people and their parents or carers.
Choice Housing’s Financial Inclusion Manager, Aidan McCrea, said: “This support will go directly towards helping local individuals and families experiencing food insecurity gain access to affordable, nutritious food and essential household items. In a time when the cost of living continues to put pressure on low-income households, we feel this type of practical, community-focused intervention is timely and incredibly impactful.
“LORAG’s holistic, wraparound model equips people with the tools and support they need to break the cycle of poverty for the long-term. We commend volunteers’ ongoing commitment to uplifting communities and working alongside local partners to ensure no individual, or family, living in South Belfast must face food insecurity alone,” he added.
New research carried out by anti-poverty charity Trussell shows food insecurity in all eleven local council areas has increased since 2022, with one in five households experiencing food insecurity last year, 130,000 of which were of primary and secondary school age. The charity also found that as many as six in ten people who suffered with food insecurity chose not to turn to any form of charitable food provider for help, support or signposting.
LORAG Manager Gerard Rice said: “LORAG welcome the support that’s been offered by Choice Housing to directly help vulnerable families and adults within the area we work. It is initiatives such as these that can make a real difference at a time of crisis for people.
“Several Choice tenants have already received support through the Family Support Hub and voucher scheme."
