Ep 1: Effective and Responsive Food Initiatives with Gary Stott

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Gary Stott who is the Executive Chairman of Community Shop and who discusses what it was like to be one of the first Feeding Britain pilot projects including how their approach has been informed, shaped and altered in the last ten years. Gary particularly touches upon the opportunities and challenges of applying good practice from projects in other areas of the country to Barnsley, how to ensure food initiatives remain people-centred, and how we can adapt to the major shifts in the numbers of people experiencing food insecurity, as well as the value of being part of a national network. This episode forms part of a mini-series marking 10 years since the All Party Parliamentary Group Report into Hunger in the UK and the setting up of Feeding Britain’s first projects and pilots. As part of this series, we will reflect on the big challenges, ideas and programmes that have emerged in the last ten years whilst looking ahead at what action is required to end the mass dependence on food parcels in the UK. We will hear from key partners who contributed to the parliamentary report or became a pilot project created as part of the report’s findings. This series contributes to the Feeding Britain podcast series which offers insights into eliminating hunger in the UK. Feeding Britain combines practical, policy, and research expertise in the fight against hunger, and we will hear from frontline projects, parliamentarians, and academic specialists on the work they undertake with Feeding Britain to eliminate hunger and its root causes from the UK.