Category: News

Hidden Hardship: Everyday Experiences, Coping Strategies, and Barriers to Wellbeing in Rural Britain

A new participatory research project by Dr Stephanie Denning at Coventry University funded by the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust has sought to better understand: people’s experiences of rural hardship, coping strategies, and barriers to improved wellbeing.

What did the research find?
The research found that hardship can be defined as struggle and tough times, reflecting daily struggle more than one-off ‘emergency’ situations. Rural hardship is not the same as urban hardship. The causes of rural hardship can be summarised as ‘lacks of’ including government support and investment, employment, transport – the jigsaw illustration further illustrates this.

In people’s coping strategies, huge importance was given to informal support networks with friends and families, in addition to support offered by local groups although these could be difficult to access with limited transport options and a fear of stigma.

Barriers to improved wellbeing were to some degree perceived as outside of people’s control, which makes it difficult for people to envisage hardship improving. These included the ‘lacks of’ such as problems with transport, lack of government support and investment, and stigma/shame linked to inequality.

Hidden Hardship research recommendations:
The research’s Report for Policymakers and Community Leaders concludes with five recommendations which are summarised here: (see the full report for more details)
1. There need to be more tailored national government and national voluntary sector responses to rural hardship.
2. More government and voluntary sector support is needed for individuals experiencing daily rural hardship including within the welfare state to address the high cost of rural living.
3. Rural residents need support accessing transport to get to medical appointments at GP surgeries and hospitals with local GP practices/branches re-opening and/or staying open.
4. Local organisations and leaders (including Church leaders) should raise awareness in the general population in rural areas such as the North Cotswolds that people are experiencing hardship, and sensitively give a voice to people experiencing hardship to share their experiences.
5. The ‘lacks of’ that cause and affect rural hardship need to be addressed in local and national government planning, notably public transport/infrastructure, affordable housing, and amenities.

Want to know more?
• Visit the project website for more information including the full Report for Policymakers and Community Leaders and accompanying 2 page briefing
• Email the project lead Dr Stephanie Denning

Cheltenham Food Strategy Group

Following our launch in June 2023, a  Food Strategy Group has formed and has started to explore the issues identified through our launch and from conversations across the borough.

This group is facilitated by Feeding Gloucestershire and comprises of representatives from –

Cheltenham Borough Council, Feed Cheltenham, Good Food Cheltenham/Project Grow, Planet Cheltenham/Vison 21 and local business

Bringing together community food support, community growing, sustainability and business with local government to explore a food strategy for Cheltenham. This group is working to identify the priority areas needed to create a sustainable food network and strategy.

The first strand of work that has been identified is food surplus/waste with a meeting scheduled for the 9th of February.

 

Nourishing Gloucester Forum

Building a sustainable food network was one of the priority areas identified at Feeding Gloucestershire’s launch in Gloucester and reflects the recommendations made in Nourishing Gloucester: A Food Strategy for All

Through the Nourishing Gloucester Forum, which is being facilitated by Feeding Gloucestershire and Gloucester City Council,  we will explore how we can bring together strategic and policy priorities with practical community delivery, knowledge and experience – to identify key development areas and create an action plan that is reflective of the needs of Gloucester City and the organisations that support the city.

At our first Forum meeting in November 2023 we explored two questions

  • What we need for a Sustainable Food Network by 2030?
  • How can we create the Network and who should be around the table?

Since our last forum we have been working in the background and we now have a dedicated email address, nourishinggloucester@gmail.com, and social media accounts so you can connect with us –Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

At our next forum on the 1st February 2024 we will be looking at deciding our priorities and asking who will join us to take this work forward

Changes to our membership and a new directory

Following on from our district launches and recent conversations, we have decided to move away from being a membership network and become a more open informal network. The decision has been taken as we were concerned that by offering membership only benefits, we were excluding organisations that could benefit. Our current membership offer will now be an open offer to organisations across the county.

We will be changing the members page on our website to become a directory and adding a directory map. We will welcome organisations and businesses  who share the ethos of Feeding Gloucestershire and invite them to become a part of the directory.

The aim is for the directory and the map is for them to become  tools for highlighting the work that is happening across the county and as a general resource for organisations and people. These changes offer an opportunity to map the wider food landscape and we would like to welcome farmers, producers,  hospitality and other food related businesses and organisations to become part of the directory.

We will begin implementing these changes on the 1st of November and if you would like to be listed on the map please fill in our form here

GREAT Food Gloucestershire

Exciting news

Feeding Gloucestershire are currently working with Jenny (Sustainable Food Places Gloucestershire) to bring to life the GREAT Food Gloucestershire Campaign which will be hosted on our website.

We will update on progress through our social media.

 

Gloucester District Launch

For our second district launch we were in Gloucester. Our thanks go to Dawn from The Venture: White City for helping us to arrange this event – from arranging the venue, to bringing the Eat Well Wagon and providing lunch. For those who have not heard of the Eat Well Wagon, it is a mobile kitchen and a wonderful community resource that has been making appearances across Gloucester during HAF.
Additional thanks go to Clare from Gloucestershire Gateway Trust and Gloucester Services for providing a taster table of delicious food from local producers.
During the event Leanne Purnell (Gloucester City Council wellbeing team) told us about the work that has been done on ‘Nourishing Gloucester – Gloucester City Food Strategy’.
We also spent time discussing the work that has been happening across the city and the challenges and opportunities to make change for the communities of Gloucester City and the county. Conversations were rich and varied and attendees left considering who else should be a part of the conversation we started at the launch.
Our thanks go to everyone who was able to join us for the launch.
Here is the link to the information and learning from this event – Gloucester Launch

Cheltenham District Launch

We started June with our 4th launch, held at the Pavillion in Cheltenham. We had a wonderful mix of people representing all sectors and the launch highlighted the partnership working that is already happening across the borough.

Our speakers included Kelly Patterson of Cheltenham Brough Council, who updated us on how the council is supporting initiatives across the district – from Feed Cheltenham to Cheltenham Zero. Linda Grice told us about the work of Feed Cheltenham and the food network. Claire Dovey spoke to us about the new growing movement that has begun in Cheltenham and Raechel Kelly told us about the work Vision 21, Planet Cheltenham and Cheltenham Zero are doing to promote sustainable living in Cheltenham and beyond.

A fantastic buffet lunch was provided by Faith of Springbank Community Group, and after lunch we had some breakout sessions to discuss the work already happening in the borough, the opportunities available and challenges we face.

We are now working to bring together the feedback from the launch, but the things that have stood out so far are –

  • More events that give us the opportunity to connect and share
  • Connecting the work across the county and learning about other projects
  • Exploring the wider opportunities to work together
  • More connection between the food support network, growing projects and the sustainability movement.
  • Mapping what is already happening and identifying the gaps.

once again our thanks go to those who were able to join us

 

Here is the information  and learning from this event – Cheltenham Launch

Forest of Dean District Launch

We hosted our first in person district event on Friday 5th May at Harts Barn in the Forest of Dean. It was a great success and as you can see from the photos, we had a great turn out of enthusiastic stakeholders, all united in the desire to support, enhance and maximise opportunities for all the communities of the Forest of Dean.

The morning gave the opportunity for a reflection of the journey to date by the Forest Voluntary Action Forum, a celebration of what a community growing project can provide to its community through Beki at Blakeney Hill Growers and an update on where the Climate Emergency strategy for the district is. What was clear throughout the morning is the food is the golden thread that ties some many pieces together. We also heard from Jenny Salter, Gloucestershire’s Sustainable Food Places coordinator about the exciting plans and initiatives that everyone can be part of from the Council, organisations, and individuals.

The morning was rounded off with a delicious lunch cooked by Joe at Harts Barn, showcasing some of the fantastic food producers from the region.

Three main areas that came out the discussion at the event were:

  • A desire for more join up:
  • Who is doing what and where?
  • Food distribution, availability and surplus
  • Digital inclusion
  • Youth Interaction and engagement

We will work with our members and partners in the Forest of Dean and the County to explore these areas further and they will drive our work in the Forest of Dean going forward.

Stroud District Launch

Our 3rd Launch in May was Stroud District and saw us reach the halfway mark of our district launches, and it did not disappoint with over 60 people in attendance. We were hosted by Trinity Rooms Community Hub and between their team and wider members of NOSH Stroud (Network of Stroud Hubs) we were extremely well looked after.

Our morning showcased the very best of partnership working and what can be achieved through working together and supporting each other. Our thanks go to Sarah from Trinity Rooms Community Hub for her insight and update on NOSH Stroud , Annie the NOSH Stroud food coordinator for highlighting the opportunities of working with local producers. Liz Godsell from Godsells Cheese providing the essential view from the farmer and Will from The Long Table to show how sourcing locally is mutually rewarding and beneficial. We also heard from Simone from The Keepers – Wotton Area Community Hub about all the work they are doing and how valuable Food Hubs are for their communities, then Emma Keating Clark of Stroud District Council spoke about how they are supporting this work across the district

Our thanks to those who were able to join us for this launch.

Tewkesbury Borough Launch

Tewkesbury was our penultimate launch, our venue was Churchdown Community Centre and our delicious lunch, which featured local produce including lovely strawberries served with vegan cream, was created by Emma of The Welcome Table Cafe.

The launch was the opportunity to hear from Jenny, the county’s Sustainable Food Places coordinator, about the work of Sustainable Food Places and the benefits for our county and Andy Sanders told us about the work of the Borough Council and the support they can offer community organisations.

Our first breakout session focused on acknowledging what is already happening across the borough and what is working well –  from food pantries and food banks to warm spaces, and we also worked to identify gaps.

Our second breakout looked at how we could build a thriving food movement in the borough with a view to creating a food strategy and we also considered who else should be a part of this conversation.

Our thanks to those who were able to join us for this launch, we look forward to  working with you and others across the district.