Leeds Food Aid Network (FAN) exists to help bring different people, initiatives and institutions together who are involved in tackling food poverty in the city of Leeds. The diagram which you can see illustrates three main areas where people who are working in this field are interacting. Leeds FAN helps to stimulate these interactions so people can connect more effectively to help people struggling with food poverty. Food Aid is a term that can be used to describe any form of food provision that assists someone in a state of food poverty. It includes Food Banks, Food Drop In's/Soup Kitchens, Street Outreaches/Soup Runs, Parish/Food Pantries and certain forms of Social Enterprise. The diagram which provides the framework for this website shows the following:
People and initiatives signposting/referring people who they come into contact with, who are experiencing food poverty, onto an appropriate food aid providers.
The food industry, supermarkets, shops, individuals distributing food to food providers. The organisation FareShare plays a key part in this.
Signposting vulnerable people onto groups and services that can help people deal with their longer term needs e.g. addiction.
The website itself, along with people connecting through phone calls, emails, meetings helps to facilitate better communication amongst those already working to tackle food poverty. Simultaneously, we hope the website can help people outside of this particular field understand more regarding what is happening in terms of food aid in Leeds.
