A food hub has expanded its operations to help people suffering from food poverty during the cost-of-living crisis.

Oxford Food Hub, in Botley Road, has put an emergency cost-of-living plan in place to try and ensure more people across Oxfordshire have access to food if they need it.

The charity – which has been operating for 12 years - works by sending its fleet of 6 vans out to collect food waste from supermarkets and food wholesalers, which is then distributed through the hub’s partner network of charities, food banks and homeless shelters to those in the community who need it.

The other main aim of the hub is to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill.

Chair of Oxford Food Hub Dave Parkes said: “We have significantly expanded our operation so that we can further reduce food waste and distribute the food to support 160 Oxfordshire charities – from foodbanks and homeless shelters to community groups and schools.

“Given the cost-of-living crisis we are in, our work is becoming more critical as we get more and more charities wanting that surplus food to give to those in food poverty.

“We secured a new warehouse a few months ago, which now has a new freezer in it allowing us to get through the peaks and troughs of fresh food we get in on a weekly basis.

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“We also have a new van, so our collection efforts are increasing.

“Our emergency cost-of-living crisis plan involves talking to existing suppliers to see if we can get more food from them, as well as looking at extra suppliers.

“In addition, we’re using our own money to buy ambient food like tins of beans and fruit.”

The hub runs purely on donations, and as part of its emergency plan is asking that people donate so that it can continue to expand.

Speaking on the future of Oxford Food Hub, Mr Parkes said: “Well I think what we’d all want at some point is to end food waste and food poverty, but that is a long way off.

“For us, we’d just like to continue to expand, to be able to make a bigger contribution in those areas.

“We do the majority of our work in Oxford, but we want to cover more areas in Oxfordshire too.

“I’ve been talking with other organisations and asking how we can divide up the work and bring even more benefit to the county.”

If you’d like to donate to the Oxford Food Hub, or if you’re a supplier who’s interested in working with the charity, here is the website: Oxford Food Hub (formerly Oxford Food Bank).

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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