Committee: | Finance and Community Resources Committee |
Date: | 18th July 2023 |
Report Author: | Tara Bloomfield |
Report Title: | Connect 4 Communities Grant |
In February 2023, Ryde Town Council (RTC) were awarded £8,000 from Connect 4 Communities to provide a food voucher scheme for residents who were severely impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.
The vouchers were issued in the following award value:
Individual - £25.00
Couple - £50.00
Family - £75.00
By running this scheme, RTC were able to help the following residents:
Category | Households with children | Households with pensioners | Households with a disabled person | Other households | Total |
Spend (£s) | 6050 | 325 | 750 | 875 | 8000 |
Number of Households Helped | 91 | 10 | 16 | 35 | 152 |
Connect 4 Communities have now released additional funding, from which, RTC have made an application for the funding to run the food voucher scheme again and aims to help the following households:
Category | Households with children | Households with pensioners | Households with a disabled person | Other households | Total |
Spend (£s) | 13,000 | 1,500 | 1,875 | 2,500 | 18,875 |
Number of Households Helped | 91 | 10 | 16 | 35 | 152 |
Given the increasing costs of food, the vouchers will now be issued in the following award value:
Individual - £50.00
Couple - £75.00
Family - £100.00
In addition to the food voucher scheme, RTC have also applied for funding to provide bespoke cookery courses, in which, residents will be taught how to batch cook and how to plan meals on a budget.
RTC have previously provided these courses earlier this year via funding from Multiply and they were a proven success, with some attendees forming friendships and support outside of the classes.
Each course is available for up to 10 people and runs for half a day for 6 consecutive weeks. RTC aim to offer 4 courses, and in turn assist 40 households with the courses.
The total funding applied for is as follows:
Food Voucher Scheme £18,875.00
Cooking Courses £5,500.00
Administration Costs £1,218.75
The application is currently with the Connect 4 Communities Panel for approval, and we hope to hear if we are successful in the next few weeks.