RESIDENTS have been lifted out of food poverty thanks to a scheme to support people struggling to feed their family.

The Warrington food pantry project is designed to enable customers to take a ‘step up the food ladder’.

The building stronger communities policy committee will be provided with an update on the scheme during its virtual meeting on Wednesday.

It launched at Fearnhead Community Centre in November 2019, with users paying a weekly £2.50 membership fee which gave them a basket of 10 items of food worth up to £20.

The scheme emerged from the work of the council-led Welfare Reform Action Partnership, which highlighted an emerging need to support people who were struggling to pay their basic household bills, choosing between heating their homes and feeding their family.

A key aim of the pantry is to offer customers a wraparound service to improve their life chances, including looking at people’s financial and employment circumstances as well as their health and wellbeing.

It is a joint project between Warrington Borough Council, Torus, Warrington Foodbank and Clarion.

A report to the committee says the pantry is ‘short term to lift the members out of food poverty’ and that it empowers individuals to make informed choices.

It said: “The pantry is run by volunteers with support from the neighbourhood team.

“Getting the right quality of volunteer is important as commitment is essential for the smooth delivery of the pantry sessions.”

The report says the pantry has not been open since March 2020 due to Covid-19.

It added: “Online meetings have still been held to discuss best practice, lessons learned and the way forward.

“Plans for January include the recruitment and training of new volunteers.”

The pantry has supported 40 members and their families, while it has also provided emergency support when needed.