Food Provision
Last year: 322,127 meals provided to the community
In 2022 Oasis Community Hubs ran 45 community food projects around the country, providing free and affordable food to 5,736 people and their families, equating to 322,127 meals.
Oasis community food projects are part of a growing number of community food projects across the UK, supplying low cost, high quality, surplus food each week to residents. The Oasis community pantries are a dignified way for people to access food at an affordable price, where they might otherwise struggle to meet their food needs. Typically, a £5 weekly membership provides our community pantry members with £25-£30 worth of food & household goods. We also run other community food projects including community fridges and emergency food hampers, we ensure that people have access to good quality fresh food and ensure food doesn’t go to waste in our local areas, it’s a sustainable way of providing food to local people.
But it’s about more than just providing the food. Our community food projects become a place where community is built, friendships are formed and relationships are nourished.
One example is our Oasis Hub Southampton food pantry, which enables people to have ownership and “buy in” by being members of not just the pantry but the wider Oasis community. Pantry members can get involved in decision-making over how the affordable food scheme runs, help shape future programmes at the Hub and volunteering.
We have so much to thank this place for. It's really hard going at the moment. This makes a very big difference to us, it means money we would normally be spending on food we can put towards heating bills.
Volunteering
Whilst the implementation of Oasis community food projects are driven in the first instance by the local Hub staff, by building strong local volunteer teams we have enabled our community members to take these projects forward and make their own, ensuring community ownership. The transformational change seen within the growing volunteer teams is significant. Many of our community members who started by accessing our food projects, became enthused by our projects and are now emerging as leaders and visionaries within local teams, considering how to develop sustainability and growth within existing projects as well as ideas for new ones.
Volunteer story
I became involved with the pantry when it first opened, I had to use the pantry myself, due to my son’s poor health and the cost-of-living increase. After the great help I received from the pantry, I wanted to give back & got involved by volunteering at the pantry. Apart from the help I received to feed my family, my best experience has been volunteering with the hub and being part of a team, it has helped my mental health and self-confidence, it’s great to feel valued. I love making our members feel welcome, especially as I have been in a similar position. Being part of the team that delivered Christmas boxes to family’s was brilliant.