New Grant to aid Financial Freedom

Mike Sandeman

The Care For Our City food banks which operate from our four locations across Brighton, Hove and Shoreham have recently successfully applied for a Financial Inclusion grant from Trussell Trust. Up until now we have been supported by ad-hoc visits from agencies such as Christians Against Poverty and Citizens Advice (among others) who come in to the food bank to help our guests with financial issues that they are facing. These experts are able to help with benefits claims, debt advice and other forms of financial assistance, and are hugely helpful for many of our guests in their hour of need.  In the Shoreham site we have had more regular help from a CAP coach there.

However, we have never had a full time specialist allocated solely to working across the Care For Our City food banks. This grant will allow that to now happen, and we are delighted to be partnering with Money Advice Plus who we already have good relationship with as they have been periodically visiting some of our food banks for the last year or so. Money Advice Plus will now be funded via the grant to provide expert finical help to our clients for 32 hours a week. This will not replace all the excellent support that we receive from other agencies, but will provide a robust additional level of consistency and expertise, and will be especially welcome for the food banks where we have not had many advisors available.

Mike Sandeman who is the partnership manager for the food banks said: “

We’re keenly aware of the financial pressures on many of our guests, and we’re wanting to do all we can to help lift people out of poverty and their need to use food banks. This provision will be a tangible, practical way to help us support guests and we’re excited to develop the relationship we already have with the team at Money Advice Plus”.

We anticipate that the new advisor(s) will be up and running by some time in April 2024.