Community food for thought

A Jig-So project to support families, suffering from fuel and food poverty has been awarded funding by Arwain Sir Benfro.  The Community Food for Thought project will introduce a rural support kitchen service to four test areas in North Pembrokeshire and allow parents and grandparents to access the support for family food ingredients and training service.

Arwain Sir Benfro – the Local Action Group (LAG) for Pembrokeshire, administered by PLANED have provided funding of £40,195 to Jig-So. This is funded through the LEADER programme, which is part of the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020, Funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.

The Community Food for Thought initiative will pilot the project in four rural communities namely St. Dogmaels, Boncath, Cilgerran and Hermon, utilising the local community halls as venues and potential partners in supporting the project to attempt to tackle the above challenges.  The aim is to run two sessions per month in each community and engage with 12 families per location over the course of 15 months. The sessions will focus around Food Poverty and Food Waste, Healthy Lifestyles and Intergenerational Activities.

The project will work with all generations within the family to improve health and emotional wellbeing by encouraging healthy eating and lifestyles; fostering positive relationships and maximising income thereby reducing stress and anxiety of those families living in rural poverty.  Thereby decreasing isolation and addressing local needs.”

Buddig Meredith, Project Officer said: “This is just one example of the great projects being delivered in the county. PLANED, now celebrating its 30th year has helped communities in Pembrokeshire to access over £25m worth of funding during that time.

“Arwain Sir Benfro is currently supporting project ideas from local community groups, organisations and businesses. As the Local Action Group for Pembrokeshire, we bring together a mix of local community representatives, business, third sector, local authority partners.