For our community response work in the borough, shifting from an emergency to a resilience model is a game changer. We now have the opportunity to move from food bank hand-outs to a choice-based model that can also improve levels of financial resilience.
Food banks like Wimbledon Foodbank do incredible work, but at their root, they are designed for people at “breaking point.” A pantry model can serve help people who aren’t in full crisis but are struggling to stay afloat. It’s a preventative measure for communities where people are both in and out of work, including many who are in low pay or have fluctuating incomes.
- Merton’s Food Pantry also has the potential to link to our local credit union – Your Community Bank.
- Find out more on the Polish Family Association Facebook Page
You can link the pantry membership directly to Your Community Bank.
- Based on a tried and tested model from Bradford, Your Community Bank is now trialling a ‘Shop and Save’ model with our colleagues in Sutton on the St Helier estate. Customers can chose to pay an additional £1 per week for their weekly Pantry shop, contributing to a savings account with the credit union
- By the end of the year, a Pantry member will have painlessly saved £52. For some this could mean the difference between an emergency repair and a high-interest pay-day loan.
- Saving regularly with Your Community Bank can also open doors to low-interest “budgeting loans,” moving people away from predatory lenders.
Merton’s community is diverse, so sometimes a pre-packed bags may not meet cultural or dietary needs. Pantries allow people to choose. Whether it’s fresh veg for a specific recipe or specific brands their kids like, choice is the ultimate restorer of dignity, turning clients into consumer with choices.
Pantries can also be at frontline for reducing food waste. Using carefully-chosen surplus food from reliable partners the Merton pantry isn’t just food for budgets and healthy diets it also plays a key environmental role, keeping good food from being wasted.
A food bank voucher can help you survive the week. Pantry membership with a Your Community Bank savings account will help you and your family to survive the year.
